Leaf Ninja and the School of Magic
by Wynth
Summary: They thought the Chuunin Exams was as exotic it was going to get around Konoha, but when given a new mission to uncover an unknown number of spies in a magical school, they knew they were wrong. Hogwarts was just as deadly as home. •4thYr/1:4• HIATUS
1. Prologue

_EDITED – 27/02/2011

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_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter._

_The original is posted on livejournal; link in my profile. The Cram will also be deleted as it was a part of the original, and I will be incorporating it into this version. It, too, will be found on livejournal (link in my profile)._

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LEAF NINJA AND THE SCHOOL OF MAGIC**  
—CHAPTER ZERO—  
**_Prologue

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"I expected more from you," Tsunade said, disappointment drowning in her eyes as she nestled her gaze on each of the ninja in front of her.

Neji's jaw tightened, his lavender eyes hardening. Shino didn't react but the slight murmur of his bugs within his body suggested otherwise; yet she couldn't hear it. Sakura dropped her head, sealing her green eyes shut and inhaling deeply. The female Hokage hovered her hand over a thin stack of papers to the side of her, her eyes glancing in that direction.

"I expected more information for one." She then raised the papers, thin, cursive handwriting barely distinguishable from their distance. "For example, do you know what this is?"

Silence was her only response.

"This is a medical report for Lee-kun and Tenten-chan." She noted the flinches from all three ninja and she narrowed her eyes. "Do you know what it says?" No response. "Do you?"

Sakura flinched greater than the other two, and her fingers started to curl under her palm that was resting on her knees. She uttered a soft, "No, Tsunade-shishou," before going completely silent.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" The question was rhetorical and spoken very firmly. "Say 'yes'!"

The two male teenagers seemed incapable of doing what she asked, so Sakura replied with another quiet, "Yes, Tsunade-shishou," before hiding herself behind her pink locks once more.

"On second thought, read it yourself," she snapped, slamming the stack of paper on her deck towards them. "Secondly, don't think I didn't receive information on you during your stay at Hogwart's. I receive every single thing about you; your results, your detentions, your every movement noted by teachers under request of Dumbledore-sensei. And I must say... how much more obvious could you be?

"Your mission was simple. Stay undercover as a fourth year student, learn the trade of the magic-users and unearth fool-hard evidence of a spy within Hogwart's." Her honey eyes went hard, tracing over the threes' stiff postures as they remained glued to their seats. "Just what the hell happened?"

Neji tilted his head, eyebrows angled over his eyes. "A lot... happened."

The Hokage's lips tightened as she leaned back in her chair. "I don't think this can wait til your report."


	2. Surprises

_EDITED – 27/02/2011

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_Thank you for the reviewing! As always, I'd love feedback. I won't learn unless you tell. Thank you. :3

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—**CHAPTER ONE—  
**_Surprises

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_Neji paused before inhaling sharply and responding in a condescending tone. "Well, for starters, the catalyst for the stream of events that followed was undoubtedly the arrival of a certain someone at our door, not two days after our arrival at the Leaky Cauldron. That was your first mistake."_

"You've got to be kidding me."

Sakura stared at the man before her with lidded eyes, her hand still gripping the aging handle of the wooden door loosely. The muscles in his large chest rippled beneath skin-tight clothes—a green singlet and tight black shorts—as he chuckled before he breathed in and sent the frozen pinkette a thumbs-up. Sakura swore there was a flash of light that reflected on his teeth from behind his massive hand—she was tempted to observe around to see if there was any light that could have done that.

"No kidding here!" The man beamed.

She only vaguely felt her bottom lip droop before she half gazed over her shoulder and screamed, "Neji-san!" The brunette was by her side in a heartbeat.

"What is—" His sentence slowed as he took in who was at the door, "—it. Gai-sensei?" Neji looked completely perplexed as Sakura stared wide-eyed at his face in absolute horror, her eyes practically screaming/demanding if he knew why the jounin was right outside their room.

"Indeed it is I, Neji-kun!" Gai chuckled, moving his thumb to the side towards his student. Sakura's hand on the handle tightened.

Neji's jaw stiffened. "What—"

There was a blur and a rustle of clothes just milliseconds before Lee—dressed in British garments, sans hitai-ate, just like the rest of them—appeared in front of them, his eyes shining with mirth and his hands clasped together. "Gai-sensei!"

"Hello, Lee-kun," the older mirror-image grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "Tsunade-sama sent me to escort the four of you around this... er, youthful place..." Sakura had a feeling that he used that word, 'youthful', when he couldn't find a better adjective or a proper word to describe his intention. "...and ensure your utmost safety until you begin at your youthful school." His inhalation was deep. "An honour."

"Oh, Gai-sensei."

"Don't cry, Lee-kun, there is much to do and—you'll wreck your shirt."

Lee's watery eyes instantly dried as he straightened and saluted his teacher. Sakura and Neji both shared the same expression of absolute fear—though Neji's was far less extreme—at what was about to come their way while Gai stayed with them until they left. Sakura never thought she'd wish that day would come sooner—and find something that both she and the Hyuuga were mutual with. One over-the-top, exuberant guy was bad enough, but another?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Sakura cut in, crossing her hands over the other repeatedly as she shook her head. "Wait."

Gai raised a bushy eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

"So that's why you're here but..." she swallowed, hoping that the man—and for that matter, Neji and Lee—wouldn't be insulted for what she was about to say. "...why you?"

The green beast laughed, dropping a large hand on Sakura's small shoulder, to which her eye twitched. "I was the only jounin to spare after my... little mishap on a solo mission." She got the hint, but was intent in moving the hand resting on her shoulder like a dead weight purely with her eyes; her whole right side was growing numb.

Gai chuckled approvingly as Sakura nodded minutely. "Now, where is the fourth? Where is Aburame, Shino?" He pronounced every syllable in an almost song-like way.

Sakura sent a desperate glance, when Lee and Gai weren't looking, to Neji who matched her gaze, and she felt her chest cave when she took note of his resigned expression. She stepped out of the way to let the teacher in to their humble abode—two rooms consisting of a bathroom, and a larger room where they slept; Sakura's bed separated by a white sheet. At the same time, Shino walked into the room; his eyes, hidden behind his black glasses, were no doubt running over Gai, resulting in the rise of one of his eyebrows.

"I thought this mission was to be done with just the four of us?" he asked monotonously, seemingly ignorant to the water droplets dripping from his wet locks.

"It was and still is," Neji responded. "Gai-sensei is—"

"—here to escort you around this youthful place until—"

"—untilweleaveforHogwart's," Sakura cut in quickly. It may have been rude, yes, but the Green Beast always drew out everything he said, making her antsy. It was only when he was on the move that he was faster.

To her surprise, as she closed her eyes and waited for a scold that she was used to getting from Tsunade-shishou, Gai merely guffawed. "Someone's in a rush to explore this place!" Sakura felt herself blanch wehn he patted her back. To him, it was lightly, to her, well, she had to stumble forward a few steps to regain her balance. "Good work, Sakura-chan! That's the spirit!"

Her face went white ("Sakura-chan?" she mouthed to herself) and she sent an inconspicuous look to Neji, wanting to know how the hell he dealt with this almost twenty hours a day (and because of the fact that Gai-sensei had misinterpreted what she said), but then she caught sight of his lip twitching into a constrained smile. She frowned instead, glaring.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "I see."

Gai looked triumphant, his nostrils flaring. Lee looked proud, nodding at Sakura with a soft snort as if to say 'good work'. Sakura, herself, was a little shaken. _I'm surrounded by freaks and... scary people_, she mused to herself while she closed the door hurriedly at the sound of magic-folk coming up the rickety steps.

_Tsunade's eyes thinned. "Gai-kun was the only jounin around who was even able to go."_

"_But why was one needed, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked suddenly. She hesitated at the end of her question, remembering who she was talking to and what she was capable of. True, her training had fared well before the mission, but Sakura still couldn't shake the overwhelming intimidation the Hokage held, especially since she had witnessed her frustration first hand._

_The gliding of her honey-coloured eyes over to her student resulted in a slight flinch from the pinkette. "Three chuunin and one fresh jounin in an entirely different world for the first time for any Leaf ninja; I think that's a good enough reason, don't you? Gai-kun's arrival may have been late, but the four of you could not depart at a later date to wait for the presence of a fully-trained jounin sensei._

"_You may be a jounin Hyuuga, Neji, but another adult jounin would have been required, as per usual to a mission. And it was only until you left that he would stay around."_

"_Then that would have been the first mistake, Hokage-sama," Shino intervened. His voice was gravelly, monotonous. _

"_So you've said," Tsunade nodded. "Still you've yet to explain how."_

_Neji leaned forward in his seat. Sakura felt herself gawk at the change, as well as the alter in respect of the deliverance of the report. It was almost as though the two males were accusing Tsunade-shishou for what happened at Hogwarts, yet she couldn't have known. It was stupid. It was dangerous. And she voiced her concern by catching Neji's eye and shaking her head slightly in worry, but he just gave a glare in return._

"_Have you ever been to Britain, Hokage-sama?" Neji asked rhetorically. The furrow of the Hokage's brow answered his question—no. "The people there are easily stunned by out-of-the-ordinary things. The magic-folk are even the same way, despite being unordinary themselves." He paused. "Do you have any ide—"_

"_I'd watch your tone, Hyuuga," Tsunade cut in, her fingers now laced before her penetrating eyes. Sakura froze, fearing this reaction. Honestly, Neji's disrespect was a surprise, but she supposed that what had occurred over the past year may have been a reason for that. He had seen—they all had—so many different things at Hogwarts that the stress of it all as the leader of the group would have no doubt caused some frustration to fester in his mind. And now having his Hokage inform him that his first mission as leader was a job badly done... well, it must have harmed his pride._

_Neji bowed his head in apology, and Sakura watched in trepidation as he inhaled. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, there are many things on my mind."_

"_Done. Now go on."_

_He continued where he left off. Sakura sighed in relief when he started on a better note. "Having Lee-kun and Gai-sensei together was a bad idea, put shortly. Their antics when together is widely known in Konoha, and very well tolerated. Not many people would think too ill of them, as it has become almost normal. But in Britain, in Diagon Alley, it was not."_

Hagrid was in a good mood when he arrived at the ninja room, only to have the door suddenly fling open and be met with a large cheesy grin of a strange, tall man with a bowl-shaped hair-cut and skin tight clothes. What's more frightening was that the man didn't seem to notice that he couldn't understand a word he was saying as he herded the giant into the room and patted his back as though they were lifelong friends. What surprised Hagrid even more was that the ninja looked to be used to it—though he could note the paleness of Sakura's skin as her green eyes darted around worriedly.

Neji had said something in their native language, causing Hagrid to scrunch his nose as he stared at them in confusion. The Hyuuga paused before understanding. Seeing that there was a definite language barrier, he slipped a simple, silver pendant around his neck that was provided by Dumbledore beforehand with a set of instructions—the remaining three followed suit. Neji introduced the older, stranger man and what his role was.

"What are we doing today, Hagrid-san?" Neji said next, curiosity evident in his eyes. In the background, Sakura had smirked at how strange an English name sounded.

The giant looked relaxed as the young ninja took charge, but he watched the beaming man with a close eye.

"Uh, well," he started somewhat nervously, "Dumbledore 'ad sent me ter show yer where to go fer yer 'quipment." He was referring to the list that was given to them two days before by the Landlord of the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, Neji had his already out and he swiped it from his bed to gaze at it. Many of the objects required for their year at Hogwarts were most definitely going to be sold in some sort of secluded shopping market, but he wondered where such a place would be to remain hidden from 'Muggles'.

"Right," Sakura recalled. "We still need to get in our last minute cram, don't we?" Shino and Neji nodded—the latter a little distractedly. "So we'd need books and we were told that... we'd need wands?"

Hagrid gestured to her as if she was correct, something to which she beamed at despite her upbringing—who could resist those warm, brown eyes? "'xactly. That's where I'm takin yer now. Diagon Alley," he said with pride.

All the student ninja appeared interested by the title of this place, and as Gai—who somehow knew they were about to leave despite not actually knowing what they were saying—had Lee, Sakura and Shino (with difficulty of course) get the barest essentials for their trip, Neji approached Hagrid quietly, the list still in his hands, a frown marring his clear face. "Hagrid-san."

"Hmm?"

Somehow, Neji couldn't help but respect this man. He was helpful, kind-hearted—maybe a little too much—and didn't ask too many questions about who each of the ninja were and provided them with privacy. The ex-wizard was interested, of course, but didn't utter a word. He was actually one of the few that knew of their real background, but he did not know the mission.

"Where is Diagon Alley?" he asked.

The giant's eyes lit up. "Now tha' you'll find out soon 'nough."

Neji didn't feel particularly pleased with the secrecy but nodded nonetheless, turning back to the others who were shuffling about in a degree of excitement. "We might need to get another language pendant for Gai-sensei while he's here. Sakura-san, did we receive an extra?"

"No—yes!"

"Dumbledore-sensei's a little more well-prepared than we thought," Shino muttered on the sideline beside Hagrid, who only glanced at him in response.

It took them another ten minutes to depart their room, wherein Gai was absolutely baffled with the language charm and the other magical trinkets on their way down to the kitchen—the others were too, but had done most of their gawking the night before. Sakura and Shino both wondered how he wasn't delayed by staring at everyone on the way up, and Neji found himself having to lead his sensei away from a huddle of wizard's garbed entirely in flashy robes because the Green Beast saw fit to advertise green spandex. Hagrid was embarrassed, tilting his head in apology as he directed the group in a different direction to the exit, much to their confusion.

"Yer a strange lot," he muttered as he sidled through the group to the front and stood before a slimy, stone wall. The ninja all looked curiously around his thick body, while Gai stood directly by him and watched, wondering what 'youthful magic' display Hagrid would show them—though the sensei doubted anything the giant did could beat the moving chairs, which he found amazing in itself. Neji, Shino and Sakura agreed, but also couldn't deny the tingle of impending knowledge of magic.

They just knew they had seen nothing yet.

The way of the ninja would be a sight to see for a human—magic or non—but magic in itself was very different to what the shinobi could do. Sure, their speed could almost be considered as disappearing, from what they'd heard from Hagrid, but none of them could say that many ninja could move things just by the flick of a wrist; unless you were a puppeteer.

All five watched with careful eyes as Hagrid raised his umbrella and started tapping at selected bricks on the wall. At the last tap, there was a brief silence—they relaxed their shoulders as they had been expecting something sudden that they'd have to jump out of the way or the like (you never knew with magic, they learned)—before the bricks shifted, turning, twisting, peeling away at the centre until an archway was created. If that hadn't kept them gaping, it was the sight before them that did.

"Woah," Sakura said. They nodded in agreement.

Enough said.

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"Yer Lady 'Kage sent quite a bit of money 'fore yer 'rrived. Dun worry 'bout it. It's been 'xchanged for wizarding money already, so it's right for spendin'," Hagrid explained as he trumped through the narrow street, the ninja right behind him considering he cleared the way with ease.

It was difficult trying to listen to what he was saying as they were distracted by so many things lining the sidewalk, such as the cages of owls and outside stalls displaying alchemic products promised inside the store. There were tonnes of people weaving out of the giant's way and groups bunched up at windows that showed brooms and pets. Sakura pointed out the sweet shop, an assortment of flashing candies winking at the group through the window as they passed. The inside was packed.

There were bookstores, small cafes, alchemy stores, broom stores, more bookstores, clothes stores, and so many more things that all the craning started to hurt Sakura's neck. She was suddenly jostled, and her green eyes flickered around her group, only to see them all standing and staring up at a massive towering building with crooked columns holding it.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "That shouldn't be possible by all laws of physics."

Neji smirked, patting the Aburame's shoulders as Hagrid ushered them into the building dubbed as 'Gringotts'. "Only in our world."

Sakura felt light as they passed under the huge arch of the building. Excitement was building up in her. She wanted to explore this new world, splurge, eat, read, or just simply browse. Her heart was pounding as she sent a wistful look back out to the filled streets.

"What are...?" she heard Neji start, and curious about his unfinished sentence, she moved away from behind Hagrid and took a look at the massive hall before her. Her jaw dropped. She had never seen such strange looking creatures.

"Goblins," Hagrid explained. "Don't look 'em in the eyes."

At that point, Lee was staring at one directly but tore his bug-like eyes from the black, beady ones scrutinising him to look at something else. The goblin muttered under its breath before walking off, a fat bag in his grey hands.

"What is your money like?" Sakura asked innocently. Hagrid approached one of the tall counters with a working goblin behind it and dropped a crumpled letter onto the desk. The goblin paused in his work and gingerly took the parchment, reading it. Meanwhile, the giant gazed down at the pink-haired ninja.

"Simple. Not sure 'bout yer money but 'ere it's all in galleons, sickles and knuts," he started, proceeding to skim over the workings of wizarding currency which only made her think that it was far more complicated than what it had to be. She decided she'd leave the math with Shino or Neji from then on.

As both Gai and Lee gazed around the gigantic room filled with dozens of small creatures and busy witches and wizards, Shino half turned to Neji beside him and remarked, "They're more like tourists, now."

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Hagrid had left them not ten minutes ago, claiming he had other business he had to attend to on behalf of Dumbledore, but he had made sure that the ninja were prepared to go shopping by themselves before he left. They were left outside Gringott's bank, watching the magic-folk pass them by as they wondered where to go next.

"Excuse me," a witch said, and Sakura shyly shuffled into Shino to let her pass.

Neji looked uncertain. "Where do we start?" he asked, more to himself really.

Gai punched the air—Sakura inwardly gaped. "Alright! Let's go do some shopping!" he cried, ignoring the stares of some groups of magic-folk around him—Sakura noticed though, and was feeling slightly insecure. "What's first on the list, Neji-kun?"

The Hyuuga pulled out his copy of the list, eyes scouring the parchment. "There's a lot for us to get." Sakura read the page over his shoulder. "We should split up to get what's required and meet somewhere again later on," he suggested—sort of.

The destination and groups were quickly decided. Sakura and Neji were forced together by Gai after they started some sort of petty 'unyouthful' squabble about who'd go with whom. This left Shino, Lee and Gai, himself, as the other group—Shino didn't complain. His group meandered off quickly into the thickening crowds of the afternoon to search for the apothecary and alchemical equipment, such as the scales and cauldrons—the fitting of the robes and the like was their last stop. Neji and Sakura were left with the books, to which they both didn't complain about—Sakura had to roam through the ones there they had on magical healing—but had to get their robes beforehand. At three, they'd meet at Ollivander's, a wand shop recommended by Hagrid before he left. He had eyed them a bit queerly as he said it, though, a mask of worry in his brown eyes.

_Tsunade's interest was piqued. "What happened?" _

_Neji tilted his head towards Shino, as if to say that he wasn't going to explain the story but the other would. The Aburame's lips thinned at the switch but explained anyway. "They got out of hand."_

"Look at it," Gai beamed, waving his arm gigantically at the creaky store that had a chipped sign hanging over head saying 'Cauldrons'. Shino glanced behind to note that the apothecary was just across the street. "Imagine its youth in its prime days."

Lee nodded, watching witches and wizards stream in and out of the small store. "I can, sensei, I can!"

The larger man patted his student fondly on the back, chuckling. "Even though it's old and... maybe a little rundown... you can see the love in its use. The scratched painting of the walls. The chipped sign hanging like a beacon above the door." Shino looked away in slight embarrassment. "It almost makes you want to cry, doesn't it?"

The smaller replica nodded nearly tearfully, to which Shino thought it was high time to actually enter the store. He had the list of what they needed for their year already ingrained in his mind as he weaved through the semi-crowded building. It was loud, filled with chatter of excited kids—some older than him but many younger.

"My father said he was going get me a broom for my birthday," he heard a kid say as he squeezed past two of them staring out the window at a larger shop further down the street. Shino paused, running the word 'broom' over again in his mind. The kid couldn't be that excited about a regular broom could he?

His friend gasped. "No way. But I heard first years weren't allowed to bring brooms."

"Harry Potter did."

Shino froze, his eyes gazing over the shelf of small cauldrons in front of him but his mind was more focused on the kids' conversation. Harry Potter. This boy was most definitely a part of their mission; Secondary Task 2.

"He got onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team when he was in first year."

Quidditch? Hagrid hadn't said anything about that, but then again, they had only been in London for three days at the most. The giant couldn't have explained anything to them without risking the explosion of their heads. But what did this have to do with brooms? Shino shook his head and grabbed four pewter cauldrons', along with a few other essentials that he thought may be necessary. He'd have to talk with the others, and Hagrid.

Paying for the items, Shino took a few steps towards the exit when he heard a witch gape to her friend about something that was awfully familiar.

"Look at those two. Out on the street, in public, hugging."

Her friend shook her head in embarrassment. "I hope that man isn't trying to lure the boy anywhere. He can't be more than fifteen."

Shino peeked at the two witches from behind his glasses before swiftly leaving the store, quickly capturing sight of Gai-sensei and Lee embracing each other like they usually did in Konoha. He halted, dark eyes scanning the streets to see dozens of heads turning their way and whispering secretively to a person nearby. He had to stop it, but found himself too late when a young blond boy, tailed by two others with a bulkier structure, approached his teammates.

He couldn't hear the exchange of words over the deafening chatter of the narrow street, but he could clearly see the curl of the boy's lips into a familiar smirk. A smirk that spoke of superiority. Shino stepped forward, watching closely at Lee and Gai's expression. The sensei was laughing, awkwardly though, and appeared to be trying to usher the boys away but the blond one slapped away his muscled arm with a sneer. Lee's face was clearly masked. Even a genin could see the hurt in his eyes.

Shino moved from the crowd to his teammates in calm steps, matching the blond's grey eyes as he glanced in his direction. Silent, the Aburame stood; unmoving. The teenage wizard sneered at him as well, saying "What? Another freak?" to himself and his friends who laughed. Shino's lips thinned as he shifted slightly so that his elbow brushed the blond's, a clear warning signal.

In his eyes flashed uncertainty, looking Shino up and down with a curled lip. He took a step towards him. "What do you want?"

Shino remained still, keeping his brown eyes trained on the boy through his dark glasses.

"What are you, blind and mute?" the blond sniggered—his cronies chuckled too. It was disgusting how they followed him so blindly, but still, Shino remained unmoving.

Unmoving until another wizard suddenly appeared from the crowd. "What's going on here?" he demanded with a strong voice. He was an authority figure, a wizard policeman; it was obvious. He was garbed in royal purple wizarding robes, and his hair was a dull brown, his hairline receding. His thin moustache twitched as he eyed both Shino and the blond offender carefully.

The boy scoffed, suddenly noticing the thick crowd around him. He growled, pushing passed his cronies and disappearing into the mass without another word but it seemed abundantly clear that he had more he wanted to say on the matter.

Shino, meanwhile, regarded the taller wizard quietly.

Gai laughed. "It is a matter that's already settled, good sir," he said to the wizard. He bared his teeth and gave him a cheesy grin as though the mere sight of it would diffuse the tension.

The policeman straightened, slipping a drawn wand back into his robes. "Mr Malfoy is certainly tenacious. Whatever he did, pay him no heed," he said before stalking away, shooing away the gawking crowd of magic-folk. Shino stared after him, his hand tightening around the bags ever so slightly.

_Malfoy_, he repeated. _I'll remember it._

"_How could this occurrence affect what happened for the rest of the year?" Tsunade asked. She was confused. Yes, she was irritated that some foolish boy had chosen to take his dislike for public affection to the next level, and that Shino had put himself out in the open like that, but there wasn't a visible link yet._

"_Malfoy," Sakura started before the other two. She sighed. "Malfoy was like a school bully. No, scratch that. He _is_ a school bully. He had a reputation of being a snobby, stuck-up father's boy, and got his way by manipulating the fear people had for his family. They're Purebloods." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Go figure. The point is, Tsunade-shishou, when he started something, others followed. In other words, Shino-san and Lee-kun—particularly Lee-kun—were targets."_

_The Hokage groaned into her hand, seeing the problem. "Kids," she muttered, then waved a hand at the three ninja. "Continue. Tell me everything."_

* * *

"They're late," Sakura stated, pacing between where Neji was leaning against the wall of Ollivander's and the entrance to said shop. She'd glance into it every now and then, excitement almost taking control of her. She was looking forward to this bit; they all probably did. Her time at Flourish & Blott's was interesting still. She had found a few books that related to magical medicine but didn't want to purchase them until she further approved it with Shishou. Her and Neji had even sat down at one of the desks and glossed over the contents page for each of the books, picking out anything that interested them. Actually, it was just Sakura that did that, and she insisted on leaving when she got tired of Neji's dismissal of her interest.

Neji frowned. "You've been saying that for a while now."

She rounded on him, hands on her hips. "So?"

"It's annoying."

She poked her tongue out at him. "Deal with it. The wait is killing me. Oh, Kami, Naruto-kun! You weren't there for a year but still you rubbed off on me!" she screamed into the air, punching it comically. Heaving, Sakura resumed her pacing, only to see a few young wizards around her age that were staring at her, befuddled. She scratched her head nervously before grabbing one of the bags by Neji's feet and slinking into the shop, her cheeks red.

The Hyuuga rolled his eyes.

A slight tug on his black pants forced him to open his eyes and glare at whoever disturbed him, but he faulted when he saw a young girl, about eight or nine, grinning at him. She wore an amusing pointy black hat—similar to what he and Sakura purchased earlier—that was too big for her head and slipped over her eyes. She pouted and pushed it back, brown eyes shining at him.

Neji was unnerved by this girl's sudden interest, and he looked around wildly to find an adult that was escorting the child. There were none that were watching her. And he wasn't skilled with kids. At all. Cursing his luck, he gazed back down at the hay-blonde female and said, "Hello."

"Hiya! You're really pretty!"

His skin went white, and within seconds he grabbed the remaining bags at his feet and followed after Sakura, leaving the girl behind blinking in confusion. He really wasn't good with kids, especially when they hinted at him being effeminate—damn their naivety.

* * *

The store was stuffy, the air filled with dust. She eyed the vacant benches, noting that the wood was decaying with age. The whole room was so quiet that Sakura feared to make any noise, and so she placed her bags down quietly by the chair as she gazed curiously at the packed walls behind the counter. There were small boxes stacked on top of each other, and not exactly neatly either. She took a step closer to the counter, green eyes peeking curiously at the glass objects and yellow parchments littering the surface. She counted five or so lengthy woods, no doubt wands.

_Bang!_

Sakura jumped, whirling around to see Neji dropped his bags by hers. "Shh, Neji-san. You scared me," she reprimanded quietly. He raised an eyebrow at her but she merely rolled her eyes. "Decided to join me did you?" she whispered.

Neji shrugged, his own eyes gazing at the high walls. "Don't be smart with me, Haruno-san. I'm not in the mood," he responded just as quietly, though it was more of a hiss.

"Whatever," she ended.

He stepped up beside her. "Why are you whispering?" he asked softly.

Sakura shook her head. "I dunno. It just seemed appropriate."

Neji groaned and rolled his eyes, strolling to the wooden seat and dropping himself into it, momentarily freezing when it creaked at his sudden weight. "They should be here soon," he said, forgoing the low volume. He was sorely tempted to activate his Byakugan to search this place, considering the few aisles that could be seen from the counter seemed to go on forever. However, doing any sort of trick with chakra caused a drain on the body, no matter what the jutsu was. They had learned this upon arrival when he was goaded—so he said—into using his kekkei genkai on the Leaky Cauldron.

The effects of activating his bloodline was further dulled, his sight not as far as he was used to. Furthermore, using it felt as though there was a force that was pushing back on him. None of them understood what was going on and were forced to limit the use of their techniques to an extent, at least until they figured out what was going on.

When Tom, the Leaky Cauldron Landlord, had given him mail on the first day in Britain from Dumbledore, they had received some assumptions—as well as the equipment list—on the clashing of the two energies: magic and chakra. In small, spidery hand writing, the Headmaster had written some theories: that the magical atmosphere may dampen any jutsu used because of the obvious difference in energy. That, if raw chakra came in contact with magic, there may be some unknown effects. All in all, he was incredibly vague.

There was a sliding sound, and within several seconds a man slid into view from the aisles, gripping onto a ladder. He eyed them carefully, his white hair wispy like fairy floss. The robes he wore were old and moth-eaten, but it suited the decor of the rest of the store. He mumbled to himself as he descended his ladder ("more than welcome to ring the bell") and approached the counter.

"Good afternoon, young witch and wizard." He smiled somewhat serenely but Sakura was a little unnerved by him. They both nodded a 'hello' in response. "Your wand arm," he then said.

She stared at him in confusion but raised her right arm, assuming he meant the arm she used the most. He nodded, and a measuring tape curled into the air from its coiled form on the desk and proceeded to gauge the length of her arm.

"Uh, Ollivander-san?" Sakura tested. The old wizard responded with bob of his head, though did a double-take when he realised she had said -san. "We're—I mean—my friend—uh..." she glanced over at Neji and stared at him. He wasn't really a friend, more like her leader at the moment. Just because they were doing a mission together didn't mean they had to be friends. Tolerate each other, yes, but not friends. Still, she settled with that description and continued on. "We're waiting for others as well."

"Fine, fine," Ollivander dismissed, eying Sakura with light blue, almost white, eyes. He muttered a few more things under his breath and she swore she caught the words 'swishy, unicorn hair, and fig' but not all in the same sentence.

He disappeared into the aisles almost excitedly, coming back seconds later with a box. Tenderly, the wizard passed the wand to Sakura, who took it carefully as though the strength she had developed from her training with Tsunade would snap it. "Rowan and unicorn tail hair, ten inches, flexible," he said, and then actioned for her to swish it.

She stared at the tip of the finely carved wood, praying she'd get the channelling of chakra well enough, before swinging it in the air. There was hardly a reaction, but she noticed that it felt odd in her grip, before Ollivander yanked it from her hands and left to find another one.

"Mahogany," he said, handing a new one over. "Unicorn tail hair, eight inches, sturdy."

Like before, Sakura swished the wand, though very minutely. A plant pot beside Neji's head shattered—he jumped away—and again the wand was taken away. "Sorry," Sakura mumbled to the both of them.

"Trying to hurt me, Sakura-san?" Neji remarked as he seated himself down in his original spot. There was an unspoken sentence in the air; did she overdo the chakra?

Sakura let it go and peered over her shoulder at him. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd stab you with it."

"You better not, young lady," Ollivander scolded upon his return, a dull, green box in his wrinkly hands. "Wands are a part of the witch or wizard. It is like their own arm. Here, try this. Birch and dragon heartstring, swishy. Eight inches."

Sakura held her breath, hoping this would be the last wand. She took the wand just like before, and instantly she felt a warmth envelope her. This was a good sign. It had to be. She swished it smoothly through the air and she stared as her wand dribbled a few golden sparks. Her heart was racing while her body temperature dropped to normal, her hasty breathing steadily slowing as the seconds passed.

Ollivander looked pleased. "Good, good. I thought that'd suit you. Now you, young man. Up you get." Like before, the measuring tape slithered through the air and started sizing Neji before he had even stood up.

It felt good holding it in her hand. She could understand what he meant by it being a part of the person, but yet she wondered how she'd be able to use this in actual combat. It'd have to be quick, and it supposedly was if it was 'swishy.' That was good. As a medic-nin in training, she was taught to be able to dodge, and a fast casting wand would prove useful for defence.

"What's it like?" the Hyuuga asked as he glared at the offending tape measuring the size of his head.

"You'll see," Sakura replied knowingly, fingering the light coloured wood and the small carvings around the handle. Neji grunted at the lack of an answer—like he could talk.

Ollivander returned, a black box in his hands. He handed the wand to Neji. "Yew with dragon heartstrings. Inflexible and six inches."

Neji glared at the wood, feeling ridiculous having to rely on such a silly stick for the use of magic when he knew that chakra was better. But it'd be a challenge, and a great opportunity. He wasn't one to pass these things by, so he swished it.

"We've—" Shino started.

_Smash!_

The glass for the wooden door suddenly exploded everywhere but somehow didn't harm anybody near the door or in the room. Shino was frozen, however, his hand still gripping the unoiled handle tightly with a curious but surprised Gai and Lee behind him. Seconds later and Sakura was giggling, Neji sending her a glare.

"Silence, Sakura-san."

She bit her tongue but it didn't stop the cheesy grin. Either it was the wand or Neji had done the exact same thing she had done.

Neji placed the dark wand on the counter while the rest of the team cautiously stepped into the room, gazing around like the other two had done before.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. "I mean, you're late by twenty minutes."

"Nothing much," Shino responded vaguely, earning a stare from the pinkette.

"Reed with a unicorn tail hair core. Eight inches, springy." And just as quickly the wizard snatched it away. Neji glared. He was given another one not long after, Ollivander stepping back to observe the combination. Neji swished it.

All of a sudden a pile of papers started zooming around the room, and just as quickly the spell was broken and the parchments floated to the floor.

"That's the spirit, Neji-kun!" Gai called in the background, but Ollivander snorted, returning to the aisles and fiddling around. Shino raised his eyebrows at what had happened, eyeing Neji's broad back as the elder ninja returned the wand to the shopkeeper—in the background Lee was getting measured by the floating tape. Both Green Beasts were eying it with interest, grins on their faces.

"That isn't meant to happen, Gai-sensei," Sakura explained. "The wand rejected him."

"So the wand chooses the owner," Shino mused as the pinkette nodded.

"Walnut and phoenix tail feather. Sturdy, eight inches."

A swish.

"You know right awa—yeek!"

Sakura's chair shuddered all of a sudden and she shot up from it, gluing herself to Lee's back as all occupants eyed the furniture. Gai started laughing, finding both Sakura and the chair youthful with the way they moved. He stated he was looking forward to the rest of the results, all the while patting Lee's back reassuringly.

"It seems these wands are strong in their dislike to be fitted with you. Try this one," Ollivander sighed with excitement. "Oak, dragon heartstring. Inflexible, and ten inches."

Neji knew exactly what Sakura had meant when she said he'd know. As soon as his fingers touched the thin wood, a warm sea seemed to flood his body and the wand grew slightly hot in his palm. This was it. This was his. This wand chose him. It was like a sealing contract. He waved it nonetheless and felt slightly elated to see the golden sparks spew from the tip.

"Excellent!" the old wizard cried. "I knew that would be it the moment I saw it."

Gai slapped Neji's back hard as he moved to the back of the room, making the Hyuuga cough and almost drop his new wand. "Good work, Neji-kun! Lee-kun, you're up!"

The chuunin ninja bounded to the counter excitedly, his fingers gripping the edge of it tightly. His bug-like eyes were wide as he watched Ollivander climb back down the ladder and take out a wand from a pale, golden box. "I think this is perfect for you," the wizard said ominously. "Holly with a phoenix tail feather. Nine inches and quite springy."

Lee gripped it and the old man was correct. Just like Neji and Sakura, Lee felt warm and stared with amazement as the tip of his thin wand spilled several sparks of red after he swished it. It was beautiful; youthful.

It was Shino's turn now. Ollivander eyed him for a moment before returning to the back. In the moment he was gone, the ninja discussed what they had to do next. Since everything was bought already—except for their optional pet, Lee pointed out—they chose to return to their room in the Leaky Cauldron and unpack their belongings. Neji suggested starting cramming right after dinner in the Inn but his idea was rejected by Gai-sensei who persuaded them with flowery words to explore the rest of Diagon Alley and see if there were any odds and ends they'd want to buy. Sakura found herself agreeing, anticipating a squabble if they tried to plan out a study schedule among them this early.

Before long, Ollivander returned. "Kaya wood, dragon heartstrings. Flexible. Seven inches." Shino prepared to swish it like he had seen Neji doing before but the wand was gone from his grasp before he had the chance. He found himself disappointed, curious about what would have happened if it wasn't for him.

The next few did not suit him, and during the following ten minutes, Shino had forced several wand boxes in the aisle in front of them to shoot from their rest and clatter of the floor and torn his shirt. He was irritated. It was his favourite. And Sakura was getting tired of having to be on edge considering practically anything could go wrong in the shop if there was a strong contrast between the wand and the 'wizard'.

As Ollivander put the dragon heartstrings with Hawthorn wand away, it was clear that everyone was getting antsy. Lee couldn't stop moving and Gai refused to halt his pacing in front of the door. Both of them continuously looked outside, dying to stretch their legs.

"Yew with dragon heartstrings as the core. Sturdy, ten inches."

The wood vibrated in his hand the moment he had his fingers wrapped around the handle, and instead of feeling the warm sensation that the others had described, it was the slightest bit colder but still noticeable. It was his the moment he swished it and saw the familiar sparks spurt from the tip. He frowned at his new wand, wondering what exactly the previous sensation was meant to mean but he was quickly ushered from the counter as Gai—keeper of the remaining money—payed Ollivander and rushed outside with Lee.

"To the youthful Leaky Cauldron!" Gai-sensei declared. Sakura was thankful the streets weren't as populated as they had been when they entered the store.

* * *

"Wake up my youthful Cherry Blossom to a most glorious morning!"

Sakura blearily parted her glued lids to see Lee's blurry face grinning back at her. She groaned and rolled over, burying her head into the wheat-scented pillow. She was warm. But as Lee nudged her again and mentioned breakfast loudly in her ear—as well as hearing Gai singing in the shower (the Leaky Cauldron were kind enough to provide a mattress for him on the floor for the night)—Sakura shot up from her bed.

Lee was gone and she grabbed at the white sheet separating her from the rest of the room and gaped at the already dressed and groomed Neji and Shino—the former was tying up his shoelaces, a look of concentration on his face. Lee was dancing along with Gai's singing in the other room, swaying in circles.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?" Sakura asked, climbing out of her warm bed and patting mournfully at her bed-hair.

"It is five am," Shino responded. "It still is early."

"Oh." She plodded to her duffel bag and rummaged through it.

Neji, the leader he was, handed Sakura a piece of paper. "That's the cramming schedule. I did it this morning when I couldn't sleep with Gai-sensei's snoring." Sakura giggled at the thought of a sleep-deprived Hyuuga and mentally thanked Kami for letting her sleep through the entire thing. "Since you and Aburame-san are in the year below Lee-kun and I, you have to study a few different things according to what subjects you chose."

Sakura nodded. She knew them, having decided them before they left Konoha—Shishou had sent the responses off to Dumbledore. "Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures."

Neji's lips tightened. "Three electives, Sakura-san. Impressive."

Her ears went slightly pink at the compliment but she sent the Hyuuga a glare, knowing full well that he was goading her. "Continue," she condescended, running a brush through her knotted hair and wiping some sleep from her eye.

"The schedule is simple. Learn what you need to individually. Any help required, just ask, and don't act smart."

"What better advice to follow than your own?" she responded with quickly.

Neji gritted his teeth. "You're being smart, Sakura-san." Her response was an 'innocent', but tired, smile, to which he scowled to before he continued. "And here I thought you weren't a morning person," he muttered.

"Oh," Sakura groaned as she stood, her pyjama's rising a little to bare her midriff as she stretched. "It must be Lee-kun's wake-up call, or Gai-sensei's wonderful singing, but for some reason, I'm in a good mood."

Shino raised his head from a book on Herbology. "I'm sure you're jesting."

Her giggle was like a sigh before her stomach growled. Neji rolled his eyes before shoving the parchment into her hand. His writing on it was a little messy due to inexperience with quill and ink and the fact that he was writing in English when he thought he was writing in Japanese; it took him a while to get used to it, and even then he hadn't.

"You're starting off with Transfiguration. We start today, after breakfast."

Her mouth watered at the thought of toast and smiling eggs which seemed to also disparate any tire she may have had. At that moment, Gai exited the bathroom in nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist, finishing off his last deep note. Sakura paused, green eyes wide, before she screamed and bolted for the door, tripping over the mattress and Lee's backpack on the way. The image of a wet half-naked man was burned into retina, and not just any man, but _Gai_.

The Green Beast of Konoha.

Sakura whimpered, curled up against the wall of the dusty hallway. "Good thoughts, Sakura, good thoughts." _Oh, why did Tenten-san have to go on that mission and leave me with her teammates? _

"Psst. Haruno-san."

The pinkette yelped, looking back towards the door to see Shino staring back at her through the crack. He slipped a pile of clothes she had picked out previously through the door and said, "There's a public bathroom down the hall. Change there."

Panting and clutching her chest, she nodded and tried to give the Aburame a warm smile but it probably turned out more like a grimace. She didn't trust her voice, and she definitely didn't want to go back into the room so soon, so Shino's gesture was actually incredibly thoughtful.

She took the package, whispering a "thank you" before stealing her way to the room, ignoring the cold wood on her bare feet. She just knew she wouldn't be able to look either Gai or Lee in the eye for a _long_ time.


	3. Magic

_EDITED – 27/02/2011

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_

_Thank you for reviewing so far! XD I don't think this version will reach the popularity of the original, I don't really mind much because I'm having more fun writing this one. So thank you. _

_Please give concrit on how to improve, especially feedback on the use of honorifics. Ta! :D

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—**CHAPTER TWO—  
**_Magic

* * *

_

"My apologies, beautiful and youthful Blossom!" Gai crowed as soon as she had headed downstairs. She was only halfway down when she heard this, and she flinched instantly, whirling around and squatting to see her group seated at a table through the gap between the stairs. Blushing red, she stood and gazed around, seeing that the few early risers were looking at him.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself. Shakily she walked down the rest of the way and approached the table, dead set on not letting a few wizard or witch glares to deter her as she sat down beside Shino. The table was quiet and she risked a glance up at her guardian before she dropped her eyes to her plate, already filled with eggs and toast that she had been craving. "It's alright," she mumbled.

"Had I known, I would have covered more of my youthful body before rejoining the group," he added. As soon as he said that Sakura was reminded of what she had seen and found herself having to almost stuff her face into her food to hide her blush. Neji raised an eyebrow at her from across the table, while Lee, beside Shino, was fumbling with his knife and fork. Gai was busy pouring another large mug of pumpkin juice and was offering to everyone else—she had accepted.

Sakura sighed. She only hoped that not every morning until they left was going to be as eventful as this. As a result of her hope, Sakura choked on her juice and then glared at it, pushing the glass further onto the table.

It seemed she didn't like pumpkin.

* * *

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Lee cried, swishing his wand roughly through the air. The mug of pumpkin juice he had brought up to his room stayed resolutely still on the other side of the narrow desk. He stared at it determinedly, as though the magic of the spell would spark and work if he glared at it hard enough.

"It didn't work, Lee-kun," Neji stated tonelessly, half leaning over the open book of Divination ('Unfogging the Future') sitting in his lap. "Sakura-san. May I try?" he asked, indicating to the packet of lollies Sakura had purchased after breakfast from the sweet shop they had passed the day before—Lee had gone with her, and it was at least two hours before they left the store. Never had they seen so many sweets in one place before. Ever. Normal sweets, not like this, were pretty much a delicacy in Konoha as it was.

The pink-haired ninja looked up from her book on Transfiguration ('Intermediate Transfiguration') to fumble through the box labelled 'Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans' to find a bean with a colour she thought was innocent enough and popped it into her mouth (it was red and tasted like sour strawberries). She had heard a group of young wizards back in the store exclaiming the assortment of tastes that the lollies had, which slightly unnerved her as she purchased it. Before the red, she had eaten a white, vanilla one.

After a second, she pulled out a dark brown one—she didn't like the look of it—and tossed it over to Neji across from her, over the small table in between the beds. "Give me one you didn't like, did you?"

"Honestly, Neji-san, I just opened it. I don't know what that one is like," she answered somewhat truthfully.

He popped it into his mouth after a moments' deliberation before he coughed it back out. "Who creates a bark flavoured jelly bean?"

Sakura was laughing into her book. Shino was reading Herbology (a book on watery plants) on his bed, ignoring everything that was going on around him.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Lee called in the background again.

"Ahh! Lee-kun! You spilt your drink over my bag!"

"Don't leave your belongings in the middle of the floor, Sakura-san," Neji chastised.

"It was in the corner, Hyuuga!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" Lee cried.

"No, I know. It's okay." Sakura, leaning over the side of her bed, patted at the juice stain on her bag. She mumbled in annoyance and settled the now empty mug on the floor. "Try it again, Lee-kun."

He did, and it slowly lifted from the floor and jiggled over back towards the table. Lee had it drop down gently, his forehead wrinkled in concentration. "Yosh! I did it!"

Sakura laughed in surprise, casting a look over to the Hyuuga who looked as though he had just eaten a lemon. "Great work, Lee-kun! Three tries!" The boy looked positively proud, his face slightly red at being complimented.

"Or maybe it was beginner's luck," Neji muttered from his end of the room but he was heard nonetheless.

"Oh, come off it, Neji-san," Sakura snapped, returning to her read.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly. There were still a few scuffles between Sakura and Neji, but other than that, the four of them were in a deep read. Shino seemed to be glued to his book on Herbology, muttering a few things every now and then in a language that they soon realised were exotic names of plants that were found around the world. Sakura had tried her hand at a few transfigurations, using her book as a guideline for turning one of her half-eaten jelly beans (it was pumpkin, enough said) into a button but it ended up looking like an orange slug. Neji, like Shino, was in a deep read with his Divination book, while Lee was excelling in his work with Charms ("It wasn't beginner's luck," Sakura had teased).

Gai, in the meantime, had been downstairs, talking to an aging wizard who was teaching him chess with difficulty. Shino had trudged down there at one point to refill his mug and had seen Gai cheering on what looked to be a knight as it trampled a peasant-like piece to death—his chess pieces had cheered. He was losing.

As each day passed in a similar manner, the wizarding calendar above an old and dusty bureau would automatically cross each day off. The rest of July came very quickly, the ninja realised, and in that time they had learned at least the first year and half of second year school work, but were probably quite rusty; like ninja skills, each of them had expertise in certain areas.

Putting aside their differences, Neji and Sakura, with the addition of Shino, had bundled up to study Arithmancy together but this had only worked for a day before the former two had started squabbling; Sakura because she detested the fact that Neji was talking to her like a little kid when he was explaining something, and Neji because she kept on interrupting him.

"I told you I understand! Why are you biting my head off?"

"Can't you wait til the end of my explanation, Sakura-san?"

"I could have but I get excited! Geez, you're a horrible teacher Neji-san. Isn't he, Shino-kun?"

The Aburame took no sides.

Meanwhile, Lee was catching up on Herbology, his eyes zooming across the pages, and Gai had grown bored of wizard's chess and resorted to refereeing chess matches downstairs—he loved watching them—and helping Tom out at the bar. Surprisingly, there were a few witches and wizards who passed through who had found his jolly nature like a breath of fresh air. Sakura was stunned to hear from Lee, after he returned from downstairs where he had helped for a bit, that there was a 'youthful' young witch who had started hitting on Gai-sensei because she liked a guy with muscles and a permanent smile.

On the thirty-first of July, Hagrid had arrived to check up on them. This was the first time they had seen him since their day in Diagon Alley—they had visited the alley several times between. Shino had taken the opportunity to ask a question he'd wanted to know the answer of since then; as well as... something else. But first things first.

Hagrid's eyes lit up. "Ahh, Quidditch. It's a popular wizard game where the players ride on brooms."

"Brooms?" Neji asked incredulously, bookmarking the page in his Potions book. He snorted. "You don't mean brooms you use to dust, do you?" In the background, Sakura was making sweeping motions with a confused look on her face, nodding to his question.

"O' 'course I do!" Hagrid said. "What other sort 'a brooms do yer know?"

"Uh." Sakura shrugged. "That's all, basically. Dusting... brooms," she said uncertainly. "Mind you, home is... different."

"Aye," Hagrid sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Lot like Muggles den, not knowin' 'bout the sort of magic things there are."

"Then tell us," Shino suggested.

"Oh, I intend ta," the giant said excitedly. "After I'm done explainin', yeh'd be back to Flourish and Blott's to find books 'bout 'em." True to his word, after he finished a rundown on Quidditch, its rules and roles and so on, some of them were very interested. Shino backed down from the idea, saying that he'd find watching it more enjoyable then doing it but wouldn't say no to a try on a broom—the thought was still rather ridiculous to all of them, and he, in particular, liked to keep his feet on the ground. It was one of the few things that Neji and Sakura actually agreed on to attempt, and Lee was psyched.

Hagrid had a look of uncertainty in his eyes when Shino had asked his next question. "'Arry Potter?" he repeated; the sun-glassed boy nodded. The other three listened, having been previously informed that a sliver of information had been heard about one of their tasks. "Well, whataya want t' know?"

"What is he like?" Neji asked.

"That?" Hagrid sighed. "Well, that ye'd need to meet 'im t' know. Famous wizard; everybody knows 'im."

"Do they?" The giant nodded.

Lee looked enthused. "And what youthful thing has this Aruii Potteru done?"

Hagrid's face went slightly pale at those words, which hadn't gone unnoticed by any of them. "What? Yer 'aven't 'eard? Jus' how much do you ninja not know?"

"We're ninja," Sakura stated obviously.

The giant sighed, and from there he explained what he knew, making sure to keeping his voice down whenever he said 'You-Know-Who'. They thought it was strange that he'd avoid saying the true name of this dark wizard, and were therefore unable to learn what it really was. Regardless, his name was the least of their worries, and was little to no use to their task. The boy was said to be a legend, and while Hagrid had made it clear that he did not know how Harry Potter had survived the killing curse (he avoided explaining anything about said curse), it was obvious that he did not care, as long as the boy was well.

"Now, 'nough of the history lesson," Hagrid changed the subject. Lee, who was straddling a chair and had his chin cupped in his hands excitedly as the giant told the tale, shot up from his seat and punched the air.

"Yosh! What a youthful boy to live through such turmoil and pain!"

Hagird's eyes flickered to him, then back to the others. He tilted his head in Lee's direction. "Is 'e always like that?"

Three heads nodded simultaneously. Hagrid looked dubious.

"Well," he grinned. "'Arry's a good lad, he is. Mind you, he's gotten inta trouble a few times but, 'is heart's always in the right place."

"Trouble?" Neji pushed.

Hagrid inhaled before stopping, frowning. "Shouldn't 'ave said that." Sakura gave him a goofy grin. "Why'dya wanna know 'bout young 'arry? Bein' ninja an' all. Thought you were here for the learnin'." Neji froze.

"We are," Shino confirmed. "Just curious. How old is he?"

"Fourteen," Hagrid answered despite his uncertainty. The four ninja looked amongst each other briefly, and the giant was left to try and listen in on the English mumbling. "Whya doin' that?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Came 'ere for 'nother reason. Favour of Professor Dumbledore."

At the sound of their client's name, the four ninja hushed and turned their gaze to the giant still standing to the side of the door. "Yes?" Neji coaxed.

Hagrid smiled. "You'll be goin' to the Quidditch World Cup!" He spread his arms, making his words seem grand, but the four didn't react. He looked crestfallen at the lack of excitement. "Ya know. Quidditch."

Sakura smiled. "Yes, Hagrid-san, we caught that but... how are we going to pay for it? Shishou—"

Hagrid waved a hand at her in dismissal, and if it were any other person Sakura would have scowled at such a rude gesture. "Yer Lady Kage offered to pay—Shisho?" The pink-haired ninja shook her head. "Well," he brandished a wrinkled parchment envelope and glanced at it almost longingly before handing it to Neji. "There's yer tickets. Don't lose 'em," he accentuated.

"Thank you, Hagrid-san," the Hyuuga tilted his head; behind him, his teammates copied.

The giant seemed to blush slightly, shifting his feet across the weak floorboards and making them creak. "Oh. You'll actually hafta leave in a coupla weeks from now; two or three," he added swiftly.

"The game is then?" Shino asked.

Hagrid shook his head joyfully. "It's a big event, it is. Takes a lota time t' organise and find a place big 'nough to hold the game. Popular game, Quidditch. T' make it less con..spic... er, obvious to Muggles, witches an' wizards hafta turn up at different times. Those tickets there are good, you'll get decent seats but you'll still hafta get there at least four days earlier."

"We'll have to rearrange the schedule," Sakura reminded, peering up at Neji. His jaw was unusually tight and she made an internal note to herself to ask him what was up. Hagrid's beady eyes narrowed at them in confusion, and seeing this, she added, "Cramming." He nodded in understanding.

"Yeh'll do fine." He rubbed his large hands together. "Actually, ye don't mind if I come watch, do ya?"

"Why would Hagrid-san like to join us youthful ninja?" Lee cried.

"Like t' see how yer goin', is all," was the casual response. He leaned forward. "Your, er, guardian isn't gonna be 'round all the time, izee?"

Sakura clapped her hands around her mouth and fell back onto her bed, collapsing into peels of silent laughter as Neji gave a slight smile and shook his head. "No. Gai-sensei is enjoying himself downstairs, but he does occasionally come up to watch."

Hagrid looked slightly relieved. "Well," he straightened. "Hafta leave now. Will see you four later on, I s'pose."

* * *

Sakura crawled downstairs later that night, curious with where Neji had disappeared to after dinner had been served by Gai who was wearing a sky blue apron with grinning sunflowers animatedly twirling their petals. The Hyuuga had just upped and left as soon as Tom had come in and taken their dishes, reminding them that if there were in any trouble, they could simply just ask him.

Soon enough, the single female spotted Neji by the lit fireplace down in the almost vacant bar area, his eyes gazing into the flames in deep concentration. His head snapped up at her when the staircase annoyingly creaked. Uncertainly, she approached him and stood by him while he rested his eyes back on the crackling fire.

"What's up?" she popped out.

Neji snorted. "I do not think you truly care for how I feel, Sakura-san."

"Hey, we're stuck together for the next year, we live in the same bedroom and we're on a first name basis." She shrugged. "Has to start somewhere."

He groaned. "That's the problem."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

The Hyuuga sighed as he took off his translating-charmed necklace, Sakura copying his actions. Whatever he wanted to say, it was clearly confidential. "_I don't like this_," he said—hearing Japanese was somehow strange to her ears.

"_Like what_?" Feeling it off her tongue was even stranger.

"_This_." He gestured to the fireplace. "_All this magic. All these people_." He gazed around the room. "_We're ninja, Sakura-san, and I most definitely do not feel safe having to live around so many clueless people and having to trust them. This is my first mission as a jounin and as a leader, and I am responsible for all of you; I do not trust any of these magic-folk. I do not like having to trust them. We're like children; clueless to this world, having to rely on them to tell us where to go and what to do. How is this even showing my capability as a leader?"_

He quickly ended his rant by burying his head into his hands, his fingers weaving into his brown locks and lightly brushing over the white bandages covering his forehead. The few occupants in the room didn't seem to notice the two of them, save for one or two who had looked their way and stared with curiosity at hearing Japanese in Britain. Sakura ignored them as she sat down on the moth-eaten lounge beside him.

"_That's why you froze earlier, when Hagrid was talking to us. We're having to rely on him to act as the informant between our client and us. He's feeding us the information on some of the basics in this world of magic, and is passing on documents regarding our mission, when he doesn't even know it—neither does Tom, for that matter."_ Her eyes briefly flickered over to the bartender wringing out a grey wash cloth.

Neji's jaw tightened. "_This is not what a ninja should do. We're supposed to get information with our abilities."_

"_Well that's going to be difficult, considering we can't use many of our techniques, in case of any effects._"

"_Why did Tsunade-sama send us on a bizarre mission such as this? She should have known what this magic could do. This is ridiculous."_ He covered his face again, shaking his head. "_We're hardly ninja anymore. That side has been practically stripped away."_

"_We still have chakra. We still need it to be even able to perform magic_," Sakura protested. "_All this mission is doing, Neji-san, is reducing us to a more feeble state to give us room to branch out. Think—Think of how we'll have grown when we have developed the ability to further control our power by the end of the year._"

"_If_ _that was the case, Sakura-san, why did they bother hiring ninja, if not for our expertise_?"

She was stumped. He was right. Why bother hiring them, people from a different plane but was still miraculously connected to this world, if not for their skill in information foraging? That was their main task, after all: to find the moles in Hogwarts. How could they possibly do that without their jutsu?

It relied on what they caught, she supposed. Their observation was something that chakra couldn't amplify, and as ninja, they were naturally in tune with any abnormalities; yet these abnormalities would be all over the place for them. How would they be able to tell what's normal from what's not?

She felt a pricking sensation in her head, telling her that she was thinking way too hard on this after a long day of studying.

"_Maybe after we have dabbled in this magic,"_ Sakura started, "_and tested a few small jutsu, things will be better_."

"_Maybe,_" Neji repeated darkly. "_Maybe._"

* * *

The conversation between Sakura and Neji wasn't brought up again, and even though none of them showed it, all four of them were looking forward to the Quidditch match. Gai had been invited along as well. In the mean time they continued studying, mixing in a few occasional Diagon Alley trips whenever Sakura and Lee had run out of lollies.

Lee liked the chocolate frogs and chasing after them whenever they hopped away (he had even started collecting the cards) and Sakura was just feeling experimental whenever they visited, so she grabbed whatever she hadn't tried yet, though avoided the black lollies that bit back. She wasn't quite daring enough, but Lee had bought a bag of them and had accidentally let them loose in their room. It was just pure anarchy as the two, plus Gai, ran around the room trying to catch them, ignoring their sharp bites as they sunk their tiny black teeth into their skin. It was just 'unfortunate' when one had latched itself to Neji's hair...

Over the days it had become clear that Lee was more than good with his practice, often succeeding in spells in just a few tries while it took the others much longer. None of them could guess how it was possible but they ignored it—though Neji couldn't help the heated glares he sent the miniature copy every now and then.

All of them had eaten their way through textbooks on Potions, History of Magic (though Lee had fallen asleep and Sakura was well on her way) and Herbology. Lee had mastered Charms, while the others were above average with their skills. Transfiguration was one of Neji's hardest classes. At one point he had tried to transfigure one of his kunai into a shuriken, only to fail miserably. Sakura and Lee had a lot of trouble trying to stop themselves from laughing at the result. The kunai had been transfigured badly, in a way that it somehow had sprouted wings and became animate, fluttering around the room in short bursts and almost stabbing Hagrid in the eye as soon as he stepped into the room.

Shino was having a spot of trouble with Charms, unable to get the spell '_Alohamora_' to work, among a few other things. There were combined readings with Defence Against the Dark Arts, where the four worked together to understand it, and were quite put out by some of the horrid things they would have only expected in their world. Because there were changes in time-tables, they often grouped together depending on subjects together—though, with Neji and Lee, they had to study at a higher level as they were in fifth year.

Like Sakura, Neji was also completing three electives. She, himself and Shino all studied Arithmancy (with a little more luck as the days wore on); Sakura, Shino and Lee studied Care of Magical Creatures; Lee and Neji studied Divination and Sakura and Neji studied Ancient Runes. Their heads felt as though they were about to explode, and several times they had come to Sakura to alleviate the pain of headaches but realised she was unable. Gai had asked Tom, however, if there were any pain killers and he had conjured up a simple potion to help (it smelled of old socks and tasted just as bad).

In that time, though none all of them would admit it, the four had become friendlier with each other. It could be seen briefly in the flicker of smiles, ridiculous jokes that none of them got unless explained or the gales of laughter. Sakura thought that she may just enjoy this year yet.

* * *

It was August 16. A witch dressed in flowing, maroon robes coming off the streets of Britain shook her straggly, black mane as soon as she entered the Leaky Cauldron. She beamed as the familiar tall, dark-haired man had appeared beside her and offered a hand to a table. "Ghastly weather," she told Gai. "Clouds coming over this city, erratic showers. Was worried I'd mess up my hair on the way here."

"You look as lovely as ever!" Gai exclaimed; she punched him jokingly, laughing.

"I bet you say that to every young witch coming through here, Armstrong." She didn't notice a certain pink-haired ninja coughing into her orange juice at a table near the fireplace. "Hmm. I suppose Diagon Alley is exceptionally crowded today, filled with witches and wizards desperate to talk about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. Seems to be the only topic these days. Are you going, Armstrong?"

Gai laughed as he guided her into her seat and slipped off the white hand towel that was resting over his shoulder. "Of course, Madam Beatrice. Not rain nor hail will keep me from seeing this youthful match!"

She clucked her tongue. "Just pray that the weather clears up in time for it." And by then Tom had served her usual drink and Gai was dismissed, drying a wet mug as he waited by the counter.

On a rather large table by the fireplace, the four ninja were hurriedly finishing the last of what they could, fully aware of what was meant to be happening that day. Sakura, who was wiping away any juice from her chin after her fit of laughter, was still giggling to herself. In front of her was one of her last subjects; History of Magic. It was Lee's as well, considering they hadn't paid much attention to it the first time they had to study it. He was beside her, his legs constantly jumping up and down beneath the table as his glazed eyes rolled over the small writing.

Neji and Shino were leafing through what they already knew, having studied amply when they heard the news from Hagrid that he was going to visit them on August 16 to take them to the World Cup. The books were merely there to waste time as they waited, as well, of course, to reinforce what they were semi-confident in already.

"Oh, come on, guys," Sakura said. "Armstrong? How did he even get that nickname?" she asked.

A slight smile curled its way onto Neji's lips. "I heard, Sakura-san. Taken a look at his arms?"

Sakura lost her smile. "No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, I haven't. Nor would I want to."

"Well, there's your answer."

"It seems women here like the oddity," Shino added in. Peering over his glasses, he indicated back to Gai who was serving another witch with a huge smile, looking every bit as a tavern man. Gone was the bright green—at least until his mission was over—and new was the khaki green singlet and black jeans. Around his waist was a dull green and dirty apron, with the greying towel over his shoulder to complete the image. What stood out most was his huge smile and bowl-cut hair; he still remained physically hygienic.

"Yeah," Sakura mused, circling her finger around the brim of the mug. "This place is strange."

"As opposed to ninja?" Neji quirked an eyebrow.

"Touché."

At that moment the door opened and Hagrid's massive bulk was blocking the entrance, the grey street of London barely seen behind him. He stepped in, his hair matted with rain pellets, a large black bundle in his oversized hands, and greeted Tom before quickly locating the four ninja; Gai followed after him, his hands drying the cup at such an alarming rate that Neji feared he'd start a fire.

"How yer goin'?" he asked upon approach. "Yer packed fer ten days?" His beady, brown eyes hovered over them to locate their belongings.

Neji closed his book with a surprising slam. "Yes, yes we have. They're upstairs."

"A'right. Go get 'em." Hagrid turned to Gai as the four ninja scampered upstairs, Sakura handing an empty mug to Tom on the way. "Yer comin' too, right?"

Gai beamed. "Of course, I am, young Hagrid!" The giant could be visibly seen grounding his teeth as he surveyed the older ninja. "I have informed Tom that I will be taking some days off from this youthful establishment!"

"A'right." He nodded. "And yer got... yer stuff?"

Before he realised it, Gai had handed him the drying cloth, the apron and a dry cup before disappearing upstairs, his footsteps loud on the wooden case.

It wasn't long until the five ninja had returned downstairs to see Hagrid waiting at the Leaky Cauldron exit, Tom by his side and chatting to him. "Haven't been to one in years," they heard the bartender say as they came up to them, carrying a small bag that held basic necessities though Sakura's was slightly bigger.

"Ready?" Hagrid asked and received a chorus of nods.

They were off ("Have fun, Armstrong!"), closing the Leaky Cauldron door behind them as they took a step onto the streets of London. The first things they saw were the rows of stores around them, and the fact that nobody was really looking their way until they had to merge into the crowd of Muggles. Only then did people look up and stare, but only at Hagrid who was at least two and a half heads taller than the tallest people around.

"Hagrid-san," Neji called out as he wormed his way beside the giant, growling at a man who had bumped into him all of a sudden—curse the lack of proper ninja reflexes. "How are we getting there? You refused to elaborate on that."

He could see the hairy man grin through his thick mane. "Need ter catch a bus to the outskirts of London, an' from there walk t' the portkey."

"Porky?" Lee piped up, suddenly beside them as well with his hands firmly grasping his backpack straps. "We are going for some youthful and tender pork?"

"No, Lee-kun," Neji said firmly. "He said...'portkey'?"

"That wasn't on the definitions list," Sakura mumbled beside Shino.

"What is this portkey?" Gai cried over the crowd, and Hagrid suddenly shushed him loudly, fingers to his lips. The giant glanced around at the few people who looked their way and continued on his way.

"Gai-sensei. They are Muggles," Neji whispered. "They do not know about magic-folk."

"My apologies my youthful student. It seems I got a little carried away."

Sakura felt like face-palming herself. She could just tell; the trip was going to be long.

* * *

It was at least early afternoon now, having left the Leaky Cauldron late in the morning. Hagrid had explained that since magic-folk have to arrive at certain intervals, they pretty much had their own booking of when they arrived. To their annoyance, he didn't elaborate. Secretly, the four swore he enjoyed their cluelessness about magic.

They stopped in a grassy area, the ground slightly elevated like a hill with a thin forest not too far to one side. They had been walking from the bus stop—the bus was one thing that they did not want to experience again—for at least half an hour, and were slightly agitated to find that their destination was a single object perched behind a rock, hidden from view.

"Ta-da!" Hagrid beamed, showcasing a black broken bucket which had a large hole on the side.

They stared. "Hagrid-san. That is a pail," said Shino.

"A broken one," Sakura added.

Hagrid frowned. "Yeah, that's true, but this... is the portkey."

Gai stared at it inscrutably, his large fingers caressing his chin. "There's something strange about this bucket." Lee nodded behind him.

Sakura groaned, grabbing her head. "I'm getting tired of all these magic tricks," she moaned.

"As am I," Shino concurred.

"Yer have t' hold onto it—oh, and take this," Hagrid instructed, setting it back on the ground where it had been before and then handing his large bundle to Gai. He gestured to the bucket. "Well, go on." Five sets of eyes peered up at him in confusion.

"Mind giving us a quick lesson, Hagrid-san?" Neji asked.

The giant glanced at his watch and sighed. "It leaves in 'bout two minutes, so..."

Lee suddenly punched the sky. "We shall endeavour to figure out what it does by our lonesome! It's a challenge I will undertake! Right, Gai-sensei?" Flames were in his eyes and in almost the same manner, Gai's own grew fiery.

"That's right, Lee-kun!" His large hand enclosed over one side of the bucket, with Lee's right beside his own. He nodded, approving, before turning his eyes to the three remaining ninja and staring right at them.

Unnerved by the look she was receiving, Sakura timidly reached out and put a finger on the grimy bucket. She felt silly squatting there, and hoped that no one else would come.

"Neji-kun. Shino-kun." Gai tilted his head towards it roughly. The two shared a look, seriously uncertain about what this 'portkey' could do, and if it could actually do anything.

"One minute," Hagrid sounded in the background.

Sakura gaped. "Are you not coming, Hagrid-san?"

He shrugged, looking slightly crestfallen as he said, "I didn't 'ave the money."

"Where is your youthful spirit?" Gai cried animatedly. Sakura swore the man was more than ready to reach over and grab the boys' hands and glue them to the bucket. If that didn't work, then Lee's tearful puppy eyes—sort of—would.

"Four."

Pleadingly, Sakura peered over her shoulder and said, "If I have to, then you have to."

"Three."

With the combined effort of Gai's venomous 'show-your-youth' eyes, Lee's puppy ones and Sakura's pleading, the two eventually caved and grabbed the bucket around the brim just as Hagrid got to 'one.' The effect was instantaneous. It was like a wire had been hooked to their navel as they were suddenly thrust into a spinning, dizzying world where everything was a blur except for the person across from them. Sakura was screaming... at least she thought she was. There were gales, hair tossing and turning, clothes waving and whipping. Fearing for what was happening, she sealed her eyes shut and tried to let go, only to find that her fingers were not obeying her. It was as though they were glued to it.

It was over in an instant.

They landed heavily onto dew-filled grass in tangles. Their heads were still ringing and spinning with the lurching sensation of the travelling and their backpacks felt unusually heavy as they slowly peeled themselves from the ground. Sakura was glad to note that she wasn't the only one with greenish tinge to their face; they were all the same.

"What is with this place?" Neji asked no one in particular.

"One thirteen from Arrington's Meadow," a voice said.


	4. Shen And Weasley

_EDITED – 27/02/2011

* * *

_

_Should I even have spoken Japanese in italics? I will for now. I'm unsure about this chapter; I don't really like it. It had to be done though. Quidditch World Cup is next._

_Constructive criticism is appreciated! Reviews are fuel!_

_Thank you guys for everything. :D

* * *

_

—**CHAPTER THREE—**  
_Shen and Weasley

* * *

_

Sakura moaned as she pushed herself off the grass and onto her wobbly feet. In front of her was a wizard dressed in slacks, suspenders over his dull royal blue shirt with a muddy parchment in his hand. Shino was holding his head as he lifted himself as well, adjusting his askew glasses; had it been any other moment she would have cursed the fact that she didn't get to see his eyes. Lee was hanging onto Neji, his face a little greener than hers. Gai stood up like there was nothing wrong in the first place.

"Now, if you would please move," the wizard said, grabbing the bucket and tossing it into a box filled with other odd ends. "There's another group coming in five minutes—move please!"

The out-of-place ninja stumbled away (Sakura scowling at his rude behaviour) following a barely visible path that they could only assume led to their destination.

"Hagrid-san said that there is pre-booked piece of land for us," Neji recalled. He glanced behind to note that Gai still had the black bundle of his shoulder. "I'm assuming that that has something to do with where we're staying. It looks like a tent."

"A tent?" Sakura panicked. "One tent? Oh, please Neji-san, say that there's one more."

"I'm saying it how I see it. From what I can see, there's only one."

She pouted. Gai, behind her, had swung the bundle from around his shoulder to check if there was really only one there and there was. Sakura stamped at the ground angrily as they continued along the winding path.

Before long, the group started to see some moving figures in the distance through a shallow fog. Faint lights could be seen, despite the afternoon sun rays, as well as the inescapable sound of chatter and laughter. They zeroed in on it and came across a very run-down shack on the outskirts of a massive field where there were hundreds of witches and wizards, disguised as Muggles, walking around.

They approached the shack to see someone come out of it, his eyes surveying the field with absolute interest and confusion. He turned and saw them, whipping out a book and a pen. "Afternoon," he said.

"Afternoon!" Gai cried. The man raised his eyebrows but didn't say a word.

"What is your last name?" he asked instead. His eyes roamed over them briefly and he smirked, baring a few yellowing teeth. "Foreigners, eh? Asian? Well, shouldn't really surprise me, I suppose."

"And why do you say that, young man?" Gai asked joyfully.

"Been seeing weird folk like yourself come in from all over the place." He leaned forward. "Did you know there's a man walking about in women's clothing? And that seven people somehow managed to fit into one tent?" He lifted up a pudgy finger to encase his point. "One. Hardly big enough for three."

Gai looked awkward as he tried to figure out what to say. "Must be a family," he laughed. "Youthfully close I suppose."

The man—who was now identified as a Muggle, much to their dismay—looked quite put off by Gai's unusual attitude, as well as his attempt to dismiss what should have been strange. "I suppose," he repeated. "Now, what's your name?"

The older man looked stumped.

"Didn't Hagrid-san tell you a name, Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked from behind him. She was unzipping her dusty pink jacket slightly, feeling stuffy. She knew she wasn't the only one feeling awkward about talking to this Muggle. Why had they allowed one to watch over bookings in the first place?

Gai shook his head but then put on a look of pure concentration as he tried to remember if he was told one.

"We'll...come back," Neji said as he guided his sensei away from the Muggle, trying to give what he hoped was a convincing smile but probably turned out more like a grimace. Once they were far enough away and huddled into a small group, he whispered, "Any ideas?"

"Hagrid-san said that Hokage-sama had given him confirmation to do this, so maybe it is in her name," Shino suggested dryly, his nose barely seen over the grey large coat.

"Good," Neji agreed.

"Nice work, Shino-kun!" Lee cheered.

"Excellent!" Gai rubbed his hands together. "Now what is our fair, youthfully beautiful Hokage-sama's last name?"

All heads turned to Sakura who went slightly pink at the sudden attention. "What? So because I trained with her for barely a year, you'd think I know?"

"Indeed!"

She shook her head. "Well, I don't."

"Clearly that is not it, then," Neji mumbled.

They spent at least ten minutes trying out different names of people they knew, even if they had no connection to Dumbledore at all. Sakura couldn't help but grin at some of the suggestions Lee and Gai had thought up, as many of them were utterly ridiculous and random words ("Mortanks!" "Philly!") and she told Neji and Shino to lighten up because they were getting agitated.

The Hyuuga sighed. "This is getting us no—"

"Obliviate!" a voice shouted behind them.

Whirling around, suddenly on guard, the five ninja watched as the Muggle who had been talking to them a moment ago suddenly had a dreamy look in his eyes and acted completely different from his suspicious attitude before. A wizard nearby shook his head, re-pocketed his wand and bowed his head in apology to the family of magic-folk by the shack. To the ninjas' surprise, the wizard suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing behind.

"Okay, how did he do that?" Sakura asked no one in particular. "As gifted as ninja are in looking as though they disappeared, I did not even see him move—and he's a human!"

"I believe he disapparated," Shino explained.

"And how do you know that?" the pinkette asked.

"How? I read it."

She rolled her eyes at the lack of an answer. Neji and Gai turned back to the group, the latter informing them to be very wary of the goings on because that Muggle had a certain complete change in attitude after that spell was cast. He claimed it was some dark magic, but all of them could see the twinkle in his eye. And the pun was just ridiculous.

Another five minutes of trying to figure out what name they were under, they eventually figured it out ("Dumbledore!" Lee shouted), which led to a disgruntled Neji who was peeved that the answer was so obviously simple. They approached the Muggle again and things turned out smoothly from there. Before they knew it, they were heading to a vacant spot somewhere in the hustle and bustle of already erect tents.

"This place is way over the top," Sakura mused as she eyed a tent further down the way that had green tiny balls of light floating around the entrance, zooming up at people that walked passed and shouting some name in their face before retreating back to the tent. Lee had swatted at one as it screamed "Mullet!" at him.

All the way to their spot they noticed only two colours: red and green. Always one for sports, no matter the kind, Lee dared Neji into a bet that he couldn't get out of. The former, with his tiny bag of wizarding money, bet thirty sickles on the green team to get the snitch, despite not knowing its name. Neji, in the end, was forced to wager on the red, much to his chagrin.

Not long after they had located their area and started setting up their tent. It was rather simple as it was exactly the same as the tents they had in Konoha, the only problem, however, was that Sakura refused to sleep in such a tiny space with four males. Seeing this dilemma but not completely understanding her resentment to the idea considering they had all stayed in the same room for nearly two months, Neji quickly found a wizard official who was willing to bewitch the tent for a price. It was ten sickles, out of Sakura's money, but it was well worth it.

Their tent appeared the exact same on the outside but the inside looked to be a similar size as a small cottage. They scouted a poor kitchen, a tiny living room filled with cushions, plus two rooms off the side—one which Sakura instantly claimed. She had lived long enough with boys and unfortunately had seen enough of their habits. Privacy, for once, would be a godsend.

They were hardly settled for five minutes when there was a sudden shout of Dumbledore's name right outside their tent. Sakura, who had been lounging in a beanbag in a dark corner, looked expectantly at the males rooming with her. They were all a mite preoccupied with something, though, such as Neji assumedly unpacking his things in the room he shared with the others, Shino muttering a few things under his breath as he re-read an excerpt from a book, and Lee and Gai hunched over the tiny table planning something. So she sighed and slowly got up, peeling back the tent entrance and blinking curiously at the black-haired wizard dressed in trousers and a chequered shirt.

His eyes sparkled oddly at her, and she noted that they briefly glanced at her hair. "Dumbledore party?" Sakura nodded, frowning slightly. "Excellent. Great man, Dumbledore." And it was only then did she realise the box he held in his hands, with a sign painted on the side that said 'Irish lights: 4 sickles' in blue. "Irish lights. No doubt seen them already around the area—"

She already knew what they were, as she could hear them screaming familiar names that had been squealing before when they had traipsed through the magical field. She shook her head as politely as she could—she wasn't overly fond of the advertising and bartering, and never had been. "No thanks. And aren't we meant to be Muggles?"

He waved a hand at her. "Nonsense, girly. It's the Quidditch World Cup! If ya can't do it now, when can ya—"

He was cut off by something suddenly zooming straight passed him and through the flaps of the tent. There was a loud crash, muffled by the hustle of the plain outside. Grey feathers floated before Sakura's and the merchant's eyes as they watched it, and she released a held breath she didn't even know was there.

The merchant blinked but then laughed and walked away, not even bothering to try and re-sell his products to Sakura again. Huffing, the rosette entered the tent again, saying, "What the hell is wrong with that owl?" loudly.

The barn owl was being tended to by a very careful Lee, who had placed it on a tiny chair near the beanbag she had sat in before. Neji was standing back by the door, his arms crossed with a raised eyebrow. "He's got a note," he said.

Lee hurriedly unwrapped the message from the foot. "It's a letter from Dumbledore-san," he reported. The owl flapped its wings and pelted past Sakura like before, whacking its grey feathers in her face. She scowled, glaring at the back of it as it disappeared through the flaps of the tent.

"Read it, Lee-kun," Neji suggested; Gai and Shino were listening intently as well.

The fifteen year old opened it and began. "Dear students,

"You have been officially enrolled at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the effects of this is that the Ministry has placed a Trace on you, which allows them to track you if you ever perform a spell outside of school grounds.

"No witch or wizard under the age of eighteen is allowed to perform magic outside of school. From here forth, until beginning Hogwarts, of course, you have completed your studies and are now officially wizards and witch.

"Congratulations.

"I look forward to seeing how you progress during the school year.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; Headmaster."

Sakura sunk into the beanbag once more, sighing. "Rats. I was going to continue practicing after we got back."

"I think we all were," said Neji. "I'm not particularly thrilled about this 'Trace' either. Keeping tabs on us?"

"It's just a precaution," Shino spoke. "Why? It is not just the magic world here."

"Any adult witch or wizard is just as likely to perform spells in the presence of a Muggle," the Hyuuga retorted. "I have not read much on the Ministry of Magic, but I do know there is a branch there pertaining to magic-folk tampering with Muggles and their belongings." He crossed his arms. "It just goes to show that they believe in the stereotypes, that adults can retain their skills, while children cannot. If you ask me, every witch or wizard should have a Trace placed on them if they believe it important in their earlier years."

"Yosh! Valid and beautiful point, Neji-kun!" Lee complimented.

Sakura dipped her head. "Aren't you getting a little too into this?"

"Not necessarily," Shino spoke instead. He turned to Neji. "The Trace is not placed on them before they are enrolled in a school. Because after they've started learning, they are more likely to feel compelled to practice, and in probably unsafe locations—such as, in the presence of Muggles."

Neji's lips twitched in challenge. "I've often heard of your smarts, _Shino_-san, but have not experienced it for myself. It seems they speak the truth."

Sakura's and Lee's jaws dropped.

"I expected the same from you," the Aburame responded tonelessly.

The Hyuuga dismissed the debate and started to twirl his wand in his fingers, gazing at it inquisitively. "Is there any point in bringing it, then?"

"Of course," Sakura replied. She sunk her jaw into her palm, eyes still on the two stoic members of the team just in case they'd burst out into debate again. It was quite interesting seeing them play their wits against each other, that she honestly wondered which houses they'd be placed into when the time came. "I already feel oddly attached to mine."

"The wand chooses the wizard," Shino repeated. "Or witch in your case."

Neji sighed. "This magic is..." he gave a wry smile, "...quite addictive."

"It no doubt would be since we have had no other chance to come in contact with it," Shino replied.

The Hyuuga furrowed his brow. "Still. _I cannot help but_ _feel as though there is more to it_." His sentence diffused into Japanese, and he grabbed his locket from his neck and stared. "_The two months have gone fast._"

"_Agreed,_" Sakura nodded; her charm had run out as well.

"_Yosh!_" All heads, save Gai's, swivelled to Lee's direction. Gai, instead, had a huge smile on his face as he sent the other three ninja thumbs up. Lee held up a piece of paper, with their handwriting scrawled very messily all over it—_very_; Sakura couldn't even read it. That was until she realised it was because it was written in English and not Japanese; they must have finished it before the charm wore off.

"_What is it?"_ Neji asked, folding his arms and slipping his wand into a pocket.

"_Our regime for our stay_!" he cried.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "_We need a regime_?"

"_Of course, beautiful Sakura-chan!"_ Gai called, his teeth twinkling. "_Or we may get lost and have unyouthful arguments about what to do next!"_

She turned to Neji and whispered, "_I feel an argument coming up now_."

The Hyuuga shrugged. "_What's first on the list?"_

Lee huffed in pride before he started reading. Slowly his brow started to furrow when he realised he couldn't actually read it either. Sakura grinned, and Neji couldn't help the almost nonexistent quirk of his lips.

"_And we can't cast the spell to replenish the charm in the first place,"_ Shino muttered. There was a collective groan, some louder than others, when they understood what this meant.

Loud and big actions.

They were going to look like idiots.

"_We could always leave the talking to Gai-sensei_," the only female suggested with a hopeful shrug. Neji and Shino sent her almost the exact expression, to which she sort of shrivelled to in her beanbag. She couldn't quite identify what they were trying to say.

It didn't take long for them to get over their disappointment. They had quickly agreed that they'd wander around the campsite and take in the sights, as well as any magical diddies that could have been conjured up already. Spending the little money they had was up to them, but Neji had advised against it—after all, he had a bet going with Lee.

The days had gone fast. On their first few wanders around the campsite, Sakura had experienced many things that she couldn't find the words to describe; rainbow lights, singing flowers and green specks, clay Irish gnomes dancing in front of tents, while other tents had red lights blaring at them. They had passed a tent that had a cleverly disguised trap right in front of it. It looked exactly like a patch of grass, but when weight was added to it, it would start shrieking—a sound, Sakura and Neji realised, that resembled a bunch of fangirls screaming.

Shino was the unfortunate one to step on it, and Sakura could easily say she had never seen the Aburame so surprised, and perhaps never would again. It also seemed as though no one learned from it, as even when they were metres away from the tent, they could still hear it when someone else stepped on it.

The whole thing was massive. Everywhere they looked they there was always something to gape at, even at the smallest things. It was so full of hustle and bustle on their third day there that it didn't matter where they looked, as adults were casting spells everywhere, having no regard of the rules—to this, the ninja were unimpressed, and Shino found himself receiving a particularly smug look from Neji at one point.

They spent most of their time outside, soaking in the sights, and luckily not many people had spoken to them. They didn't seem easily noticeable. There were a few times, though, that Sakura had gotten some stares, and at one point a kid around their age—but was practically painted in green—had tried to talk to her but they didn't have a clue of what he was saying. Some magic-folk that had trouble with Muggle practices had noticed that the ninja were quite adept at cooking over a camp fire, and had actually ushered Shino and Gai to theirs so that they could make a fire for them.

The day of the Quidditch World Cup was approaching fast, and Sakura could hardly contain her excitement. She showed this a lot by clinging to one of the ninja with her and squealing before letting go almost instantly—they had gotten used to it. Neji was getting a little anxious. It was as though he was growing worried about the bet he had with Lee. Shino had seen him fingering his money every now and then.

Lee and Gai had splurged on the souvenirs, the older buying more, however, as he was heading back to Konoha afterwards. Sakura wondered if he was planning to boast to Kakashi-sensei about the wonders he had seen.

If he'd be allowed to.

* * *

August 24.

Neji woke early, lavender eyes blinking as he stared up at the hitched ceiling, the sun rays blaring through the yellow material. He moaned as he stretched his body and ran a hand through his long hair, pushing his head further into his pillow at the same time. It was so warm compared to the odd cold outside.

Someone snored loudly. Gai.

The other two didn't snore, and the thought of Sakura snoring that loud next door just made Neji snort to himself. Still, he sat up in his small cot in the corner of the room and gazed at the motionless bodies strewn about it. The room was tiny, just barely fitting the four males and their luggage in.

He shook off the blanket and stood by his bed, grabbing some clothes from his backpack. He had to plan his steps out of the room as Lee was sleeping right in front of the exit. Eventually he was in the main part of the tent and he quickly changed before stealing his way to the main tent flap. Peering outside, he saw that many people were already up and walking about.

He grabbed a bucket by the entrance and started to make his way to the water hole, where everybody went for the resource for breakfast. Only the early-risers were there, but there were still quite a few. The early morning was chilly, biting at his exposed fingers as he walked. He stuffed his free hand into the thick pocket of his knitted dark green jacket, wishing that he had bought some gloves.

His internal damning was interrupted when he heard some irritated mumbling, and he quickly scouted a red-headed man trying to start a fire in front of their tent—badly; it made Neji flinch. He was skimming the flint together wrong, and it was clear that he had no talent for Muggle practices—just like every other witch and wizard, or at least most.

Casting a glance in the direction of the well, he walked up to the wizard and squatted in front of him. The adult glanced up at him in surprise and Neji tried to give what he hoped was a gentle smile as he gestured to the flint in the elder man's hands.

"_Let me_," he encouraged, but in Japanese. The man's eyebrows disappeared beneath the little red hair that hung over his forehead.

"Er..."

Licking his bottom lip, Neji grabbed the flint, put the bucket down, and quickly created some sparks that scattered over the pile of slightly damp wood. He repeated the action for good measure, and soon enough the red flames licked at the wood and the stone circle around it. The wizard gazed at the fire with joyful smile, a soft, "ahhh," leaving his open mouth as he nodded appreciatively at Neji.

The Hyuuga copied, grabbing his bucket and following the slow stream of people that was heading in the general direction of the well. He passed the same green tent and the family of supporters, and raised an eyebrow when one of them—the same boy who had tried to speak to Sakura days before—waved at him with a huge smile on his green face. It looked odd, and Neji dumbly gave a little wave back.

It was like the hair on his shoulders was on edge the entire trek to the well, like everybody was suddenly looking at him and suspicious of him. It was strange that that kid had done that—at least to him—because he wasn't too well liked with people around his age in Konoha. Respected, yes, but not waved at like an equal. He wasn't sure if he liked it, and he wasn't sure he hated it either.

Neji arrived at the relatively short line, and quickly noticed that it wasn't moving. Apparently the old man at the front was receiving a lecture regarding his clothes, which indeed looked quite feminine, at least in Neji's eyes. Three teenagers, several people in front of him, giggled amongst themselves. It wasn't long before the line started to move.

Several minutes later and he was at the front of the line, and absentmindedly he started to fill the bucket with water while thinking of a million other things: the mission, magic, study, school, magic, Konoha, family, the mission... was it normal to already feel a little worried? It was his first mission as leader and he desperately wanted it to go well, for both his pride and the honour of his clan. It was a once in a lifetime mission and he didn't want to screw it up.

"Move it, boy!"

Neji jostled, moving out of the way as a particularly scary looking wizard glowered at him. The Hyuuga glared back but walked away regardless, even if he didn't know what the man said. The return didn't seem to take as long, even though more people were up and about. By the time he got back to the tent, the rest of the team were up and a fire was already going outside. Shino and Lee were talking—a one-sided conversation, really—about one of the books the former had brought along, and Sakura seemed to be listening in as she poked at the fire with a stick. Gai was, assumedly, inside.

"_Hours away_," he heard Sakura whisper. She grinned goofily at him. "_Just hours away, Neji-san_." She giggled girlishly, like she was a child hyped up on too much sugar. "_I'm so excited. I wonder what Naruto-kun would say. He'd be excited, wouldn't he_?"

"_It's Naruto-san,"_ Neji responded, setting the bucket down. Sakura laughed. He looked around. "_This place is packed. I wonder what the arena is going to be like."_

"_Just like every other arena, I suppose."_

The four ninja paused, gazing up to be met with a girl around their age. Her dark blue eyes were framed by black bangs, long hair caressing her neck and shoulder like a snake in the form of a braid. There was a blue ribbon in her hair as well. Her skin was light, emphasising the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her button nose.

She turned red. _"I'm s-sorry,"_ she stuttered, flustered. _"That-that was quite rude of me."_ She bowed slightly, her light pink scarf stretching towards the dew-filled grass. _"Accept my apologies, please."_

"_No, it's alright,"_ Sakura said, smiling. "_It's a relief someone else knows Japanese here."_

The girl exhaled, reprieve spreading across her face—her eyes grew larger and her lips widened to pronounce her dimples. "_I know how you feel. I had to learn English before going to Hogwarts."_

The rosette's eyes lit up. "_You go to Hogwarts?"_

She laughed loudly. _"Of course! I'm in Sixth Year. My parents were hesitant to let me go when I was eleven, so I learned magic at home and entered Hogwarts during Second Year. A bit tedious, but, well, I'm here."_

"_What's Hogwarts like?"_ Lee asked loudly. His bug-like eyes looked to be shining like stars.

"_You'll love it."_ She shook her head, still grinning. _"I can't explain it."_

Neji raised an eyebrow. "_Really? You look as though you could burst into description at any moment."_

The girl clapped her hands over her mouth and let out a gentle squeal, much akin to Sakura's excited peels about the Quidditch World Cup.

"_I could,"_ she spoke, her voice muffled, _"But that would ruin the surprise."_

"_Oo, I love surprises!"_ Lee cried.

Neji glared. _"I don't particularly."_

Sakura giggled. "_Oh come on, Neji-san. Where's your sense of adventure?"_

He stared at her, basically sending thoughts that said that he was in a different world, about to learn magic, so how wouldn't that be an adventure? The second message she received was that they were on a mission, and it was hardly a time to be having fun when they were in a dangerous place. She rolled her eyes.

Neji scowled, but gestured in the Sixth Year's direction. _"What's your name?"_

"_Renee,"_ she quipped. _"Shen, Renee. I'm in Hufflepuff."_

Before they had the chance to comment on her house, they each heard her name being called somewhere else in the campsite. She teetered on her tippy toes as she glanced over the heads and clutched at her scarf, a look of worry on her face.

"_Ah! That's my friend!"_ She nodded at the ninja. _"I'll see you on the train! Tell me your names then!" _

"_Bye!"_ Sakura and Lee shouted, the latter waving his hand furiously in the air. Instantly, the black-haired magic user turned to the team leader with a sparkling smile on his face. _"I like her!"_

* * *

Night.

Somehow the group of ninja was pulled into the swarm of people at twilight, heading towards what could only be the arena for the Quidditch World Cup. Sakura had lost her excitement a smidgen, anxiety instead taking over as witches and wizards shoved past them in a hurry. She ended up grabbing the end of Neji's sleeve as he navigated through first, with the others behind her so that they were pretty much a train. Gai was... unusually quiet, and so was Lee. Sakura assumed that perhaps they were now overexcited.

The crowd passed through a thin forest, and it was only at the outlet of it did she look up and see a magnificent structure that looked to be about the size of Konoha—a probable exaggeration. Her heart pounded so loudly against her chest, and the anxiety disappeared instantly, replaced with overwhelming excitement that she couldn't breathe.

She could see twinkling lights above and below, the stars in the night sky basically invisible. Flashes of green and red could be seen, and it was only with their sharp hearing could they hear music over the deafening crowd.

The group slowed to a halt, people now swerving around them like they were a rock in the middle of a stream. Neji tilted his head towards her, whispering, "_Don't you think Muggles would see it_?"

"_After everything else they've seen_?" she responded, referring to the campsite. Her mouth was still open. She guessed Neji had agreed with her, as he had started to lead the way again.

"_Neji-kun!"_

The two, plus Shino, glanced behind at Lee, who now had a look of worry on his face. "_What is it, Lee-kun_?" the Hyuuga asked with a frown—his free hand, buried in his pocket, stroked the edges of the tickets.

"_Gai-sensei has disappeared_," he gasped out over the loud crowd.

Sakura instantly got on the tips of her toes to try and see over the bobbing heads streaming towards the arena. Gai was quite tall, so he should have been easily seen. "_He must have seen something. Why else would he leave us?_"

"_Grown a little more attached, Sakura-san_?" the brunette Hyuuga asked with an amused smirk.

"_No. I just feel a little bit safer with an adult jounin around,"_ she responded. Neji raised an eyebrow. "_Even if he is a bit strange. Shishou obviously trusted him enough_."

Shino suddenly grabbed onto the three of them, somehow, and yanked them over to the side to avoid the rush. Neji had nodded to him, approving. They didn't have to wait long by the sides looking like lost orphans until Gai had re-found them, but as they stood up to greet him, the four quickly realised that he was leading someone else behind him. Neji had lifted his eyebrows at the familiar shade of red hair of the man as Gai broke from the crowd, the other laughing as he followed too, both of them wearing the exact same grins—large smiles, bared teeth.

"_My dear students!"_ Gai cried, slapping Lee on the back and chuckling as he stood beside him. He swept a hand to gesture to the red-headed man beaming at them, his hands on his hips, his blue eyes twinkling at them in mirth. "_This is Weasley-san_!"

He laughed. "_Gai-san. Call me Charlie_," he corrected. He held out a hand to be shaken.

The four ninja exchanged a glance but Lee was already shaking Charlie's hand furiously, exclaiming that it was absolutely wonderful to meet him and that he knew their language, as well as throwing in his own name that the red-head seemed to only barely catch.

"_You're fluent_?" Neji asked. All four of them were reminded of Renee, who could also speak Japanese, but at least she looked part of the culture—it was the shape of her eyes that identified her.

Charlie ruffled his hair. "_Yeah. Sort of. There's a Japanese-man where I work, so I learned from him."_ He shrugged. "_Awesome guy. And my brother, Bill, occasionally works with some Japanese men as well."_

Shino raised an eyebrow behind his glasses, and Sakura bit her bottom lip as she inspected the red-head. "_How do you know, Gai-sensei_?"

The Weasley seemed to choke on some air. "_Sensei?_" He then redirected his gaze to the elder ninja. "_Failed to mention that, Gai-san."_

"_My apologies, Charlie-san! I am also youthfully in charge of these four, until I return to their village!_"

Sakura felt relieved that Gai had stuck with their fake history, in case anyone would have asked why they were so late in arriving at Hogwarts and why they were so baffled by magic doings. However, she couldn't help but be interested in this man, this—in English terms—Charlie Weasley. He wore a singlet and trackies, and his skin was alarmingly tanned which suggested he had spent a lot of time in the sun. What's more, and she knew the others had seen it as well, there were scars littering his exposed shoulders and arms, as well as numerous small burns.

"_Difficult?"_ Charlie asked.

Neji and Shino narrowed their eyes.

Gai shook his head. _"No. Not at all."_

The red-head chuckled, and tilted his head towards Shino. _"Didn't answer your question, did I? Just met actually. Bumped into each other thanks to the crowd."_ He gestured to the still thick mob moving towards the arena.

"_Um,"_ Sakura cut in. "_Weasley-san."_

"_Charlie,"_ he corrected.

"_Charlie...-san."_

"_That's right. Yes?"_

She gestured lightly towards his bare arms that he had crossed, and found herself slightly blushing. "_You have... a lot of scars. How did you get them?" _Her curiosity was genuine. Just what sort of realm is this magical world that would have such dangerous things that could cause damage like that? And he didn't seem particularly phased either. Well, she shouldn't be too surprised because plenty of ninja had them too, just... she viewed this world as ignorant, almost, in a way, that seeing such damage was somehow interesting.

He glanced down. _"Oh! Right!"_ He grinned. _"I work with dragons in Romania,"_ he explained.

"_Dragons?"_ three of them said—though Sakura said it more firmly. Dragons were a mere myth back home, and she didn't even know if there was any ninja who actually had a summoning contract with said beasts. If they did, the sight of one would certainly be intimidating to any foe. And this man worked with them?

Questions whooshed to the front of her brain, all of them to do with his area of expertise. What types were there? How did he get in that line of work? Were they dangerous? How many did he work with? And so on.

She was saved from asking when Charlie chuckled again. "_You were not kidding, Gai-san, when you said you were new to magic. Your sensei told me about you four. Said that you were from a remote village in Japan, and only recently found out you had magical potential. Told me about your parent as well. Sounds a lot like my Mum,"_ he admitted. _"You must be Haruno-san?"_

The rosette nodded numbly, her lips pinched into a tight smile.

He turned to the remaining two ninja. _"Hyuuga-san and Aburame-san,"_ he said, nodding at them accordingly. _"Pleasure to meet you. Must be difficult living in a house with a single parent."_ He snorted. _"Trust me, I know. I have _six_ siblings; though my parents are still together."_

Sakura raised her eyebrows, partially impressed. Neji didn't seem to think the same thing, and neither had Shino, but the pinkette supposed that since the two lived in clans, they were constantly surrounded by people. Then again, their compounds were quite spacious.

"_Romania?"_ said Shino, changing the subject.

Charlie nodded. "_Yep. That's the place. Came down here for the Cup, but also for a special something this year,"_ he said mischievously. It looked as though he was trying to waggle his eyebrows—Lee, for some reason, felt compelled to copy him.

"_Why? What's happening?"_ Sakura asked, feigning curiosity—it wasn't quite her strong suit.

"_You'll see. Anyway, I must be off. I'm here with my family and they're probably wondering where I am."_ He shook Gai's hand roughly, and did the same for the rest of the ninja, though treated Sakura a little more gently—she internally scowled. _"I hope you enjoy the game. I'll see you after!"_ He then melted into the crowd.

"_I have to admit..."_ Neji started, _"...I'm looking forward for what is to come."_


	5. Euphoria

_Hi, back from a long break. I had lost any will to write since the New Year, but it seems I'm getting something back. _

_This chapter... eh... I'm not exactly fond of it, mainly in regards to my writing, but I do believe it was somewhat needed to pace things along. I didn't like the idea of changing scenes completely from the end of last chapter. Part of what I wanted to do for this story was to immerse the four shinobi into the magic world, so I had intended to write their experience with new things. If this bothers anybody, please tell me and in what way. _

_It might be a bit short, but I suppose it's to show you that I am not dead. _

_Anyway! It isn't my best, but I'm kind of sketchy again at the moment (a stupid excuse, I know), so with any luck, the next chapter will be better! If you enjoyed, please review! And thank you for already reviewing if you already have! I'm content/happy to know that some of you are enjoying it!_

* * *

—**CHAPTER FOUR—**  
_Euphoria_

* * *

"This way, this way. No, up those stairs. No no. Stairs! _Stairs!_" The wizard grumbled as he stalked passed the under-cover ninja and guided them towards the wooden elevation; they looked utterly clueless. Sakura, for one, couldn't help but feel incredibly embarrassed for being told where to go, but it turned out to be harder to find their seats than they first thought, and they resorted to asking a wizard.

Neji bowed his head to the man in silent thanks, and the wizard gave a crooked smile before walking off.

"_We should have asked Charlie-san to stay with us,"_ Sakura mumbled to Shino beside her. Up ahead, Neji and Lee looked to be in deep discussion as Gai led the way up the stairs.

"_I agree,"_ the Aburame replied curtly. His eyes swept over the people still moving about, watching their bobbing heads and moving hands as they waved red and green banners in the air. It was then that something caught his eye; white.

He grabbed Sakura's elbow sharply, withdrawing a gasp from her, but then sidled through to the front of the group, whispering something in Neji's ear that only Lee could hear as he stood next to the Hyuuga. Neji frowned and Lee looked confused and momentarily upset, but Sakura was put out that she was neglected.

Lee moved up to Gai and spoke to him, and Neji nodded at Shino, who then turned to the rosette, grabbed her hood and pulled it over her head. She snarled at the rough handling and lack of an explanation, but Neji put a finger to his lips as he gestured for them to move on.

"_What's going on?"_ Sakura hissed to Shino.

"_That family over there—look covertly."_

Sakura grabbed the side of her hood and peered secretly in the direction Shino gestured. There was a family of three walking up the stairs; two male and one female, and they all had blond, almost white, hair. She could see the way they dressed from where she stood; impeccably in black robes and other assortment of lush materials that made them stand out against the old, wooden decay of the arena.

"_Them?"_ she queried. _"Who are they?"_

"_The Malfoys,"_ Shino responded. They turned a corner and ascended another flight of steps, and then another. _"How do I know? Lee-san, Gai –sensei and myself encountered them in Diagon Alley our first day there."_

"_Ahh,"_ she nodded in recognition. _"So _they're_ the family you mentioned."_

"_Yes."_

"_They looked like they were part of the Hyuuga clan,"_ she compared, bringing her hood even tighter around her head now that she knew what was going on. _"Or something. All noble, and everything, ya know? They must be good wizards."_ At Shino's level-headed stare she corrected herself. _"I-I wasn't meaning in that way. I meant in the spells they know and such."_

"_I truly wonder if the spells they cast are friendly or not,"_ he responded, ignoring a wizard as they bumped passed him in a hurry. _"Why do I say this? Because I don't doubt families like them would dabble in the Dark Arts."_

"_Isn't that a serious accusation?"_ Sakura asked calmly as they turned up the final flight of steps to their seat. Gai and Lee were already waiting at the cue, which were luckily at the very front so that they had a view of the entire oval. Neji was off to the side, his arms crossed as he waited for them to catch up. It was unbelievably loud.

"_I believe it is best to take into everything account, Haruno-san,"_ Shino finally said.

"_I know, but still..."_

"_They are gone. They're two levels down from us,"_ Neji interrupted as soon as they met up with him. He gestured to their cue with a tilt of his head. _"Gai-sensei and Lee-kun have already taken their seats."_

Sakura squealed, clapping her hands. _"I'm so excited!"_

They sidled into their spots, Sakura once or twice apologising in her language when she bumped the knees of a family of red who merely waved their crimson flag in her face, grinning. She had grinned back and moved on, glad to finally sink into her seat between Neji and Shino. Lee and Gai were already cheering for the green team, the latter having taken off his green scarf and started waving it in the air. A child beside him was waving for his team rather slowly, so the excited Green Beast of Konoha grabbed his small hand and shook it wildly, screaming out 'Yosh!' For a moment Sakura had freaked but the kid seemed to like it and was baring his rows of teeth, with one or two missing pearlies.

There was a high buzz the entire time they had to wait for the game to start. Sakura felt incredibly awkward sitting between two people who refused to cheer at all, so she felt compelled to sit stoically as well while she watched the advertising board a little below, opposite them, glow interesting messages that she couldn't read. Once or twice she was tempted to ask Neji if she could swap seats so she'd be next to Lee, but scrapped the thought. The final time it crossed her mind, a single word had boomed across the entire arena; so loud that the ninja had to cover their ears.

"Sonorus!"

The arena fell as silent as it possibly could. Around the ninja was still a wave of loud chattering, but it didn't matter, as they could all still hear the voice of the announcer below them that reached every crevice of the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup."

On cue, the stands erupted into powerful cheers that gave Sakura the goose bumps. For one, she had never seen so many people in one place at once, from so many different cultures at that, but also two, because Konoha civilians were never this loud or excited about anything. She never thought of something like this before. She didn't care if she didn't know what was said, and if her knowledge of English was severely limited, the euphoria was quickly dissolving in her.

Her attention was stolen by the black board that was before showing ads but was now presenting the scores of the two teams (both at nil); Ireland and Bulgaria, she finally found out.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"

"Maswhat?" Neji asked, one hand covering his ear as he leaned over to Sakura, because at that announcement, there was an ear-shattering cheer that made his brain go numb.

"Mascot_, I think!"_ the rosette screamed back.

At that moment, a hundred silvery creatures came gliding into the pitch. As they tossed back their white hair in a graceful swoop, they started to dance, and only then did Sakura realise what they were.

"_They're human—women!"_ she shouted over the crowd.

"_They're beautiful,"_ Neji said, awed.

Sakura did a double-take, seeing the Hyuuga sitting on the edge of his seat with his pearl-like eyes wide as he gazed down at the dancing women. She was gobsmacked that the man would do this that she turned around in her seat to show Shino, only to freeze when she saw him staring with his mouth open as well. The scene made her skin crawl, and she moved about in her seat to see Lee and Gai, only to fall severely disappointed when she saw that they were in the exact same state.

"_Guys!"_ she screamed, shaking Neji. _"Snap out of it!"_

"_Stop, it Sakura!"_ Neji scolded. The rosette paused at the lack of a suffix but continued nudging him and Shino both.

Lee suddenly stood and spread his arms, grinning broadly as he took a step towards the railing.

"_Lee-san!"_ she screeched, flying over Neji's lap to grab the black-haired taijutsu user by the waist and pull him back into his seat. She gawked as Gai on the other side was spouting proclamations of love and youth, but she felt ultimately better when she saw that every other male in the row was reacting the exact same way.

"_Sakura, get out of the way!"_Neji demanded, pushing her off of him. He had never raised his voice before.

Fear enveloped her as she watched the way her teammates were acting. She didn't know how to fix this problem, at all.

In a final, desperate attempt, she started nudging Neji again, begging him to stop. He shook his head and blinked rapidly, giving Sakura a confused expression. _"What are you doing?"_

Her face lit in relief and she shook his arm for good measure, screaming, _"Yes! Yes!"_

At this, Neji gave Shino a look. Lee, on the Hyuuga's side, was wondering why he was half on the floor.

Sakura pulled back at last. "_You guys went nuts! You started going all lovey dovey over those silver women down there!"_ she explained, pointing at the white mascots seated on some stands on the pitch. She was not at all sorry to miss their performance.

"_I bet on the wrong team!"_ Lee cried, clinging to Gai. _"Forgive me, Gai-sensei!"_

"_That's alright, Lee-kun! We have yet to see the stunning and youthful performance of the green team!"_ the teacher calmed, grinning widely.

At this, Sakura couldn't help but fall back into her seat and laugh, unbelieving in what she had just witnessed. _"You guys looked so funny! Lee-san almost jumped over the railing!"_

Neji deflated into his seat, a hand to his forehead as he mumbled, _"This place is going to kill me."_

Shino tried to straighten up how he looked, but Sakura already had his lovesick expression ingrained into her mind, and it wasn't something she was likely to get rid of. If only she was good at drawing to be able to sketch what she had just witnessed.

"And now, kindly put your wands in the air for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

"_This is our team, Lee-kun!"_ Gai informed. As soon as the words left his lips, a giant green and gold star—for lack of better word—zoomed into the arena, splitting in two and shooting sprinkles of shimmering colours over the crowd. Their faces were lit with the gold-green light, and they watched with hidden awe as a rainbow was soon formed and then transformed into what looked like a clover.

"_Oh my!"_ Sakura uttered to herself, leaning forward in her seat with her mouth open while she peered at what exactly was making up the giant glowing item in the sky. _"They're people! Really, really tiny people!" _

The others narrowed their eyes to catch what she had seen. At the same moment, golden pellets showered down over the stands, collecting between the seats. People everywhere scrambled to collect the gold coins and the five ninja stared wide-eyed at the amount of money being spawned out of seemingly nowhere.

Neji shook his head and relaxed back into his seat. _"And I thought Naruto-san was over the top."_

The other nodded in complete agreement, looking oddly like a sore thumb with all the scrambling going on around them. Lee eventually joined the hustle, collecting the golden coins littered around his friends.

By this time the tiny men had planted themselves on the opposite side of the pitch to the silvery women, and the commentator was already roaring for the crowds to cheer at what sounded like the introduction of the Bulgarian Team. They heard a name ("Dimitrov!"), and Gai whipped out a pair of binoculars from his jacket just as soon as a red-clad figure shot onto the field so fast that he was a blur.

The red stand erupted into cheers, and the five ninja watched the broom-rider careful as he zoomed around in a wide circle. Other members of the red-team systematically entered, their scarlet robes fluttering in the winds pushing against them.

"_They're fast!"_ Sakura shouted.

"_Not as fast as Lee-san,"_ Shino replied back. He had to raise his voice to be heard.

"_True, but these are _brooms_!"_

"—Krum!"

At this, the cheers sprouted to another level when the final member of the Bulgarian Quidditch Team whizzed onto the field. Sakura and Neji both tried to get a closer look at this man considering he got the loudest cheer, but were reasonably unimpressed by his appearance. As ninja, though, they knew all too well that it was never wise to judge a book by its cover.

"_I think he's the Seeker!"_ Neji called. _"Let's see how good he is! After all, my money rests on him!"_

Sakura turned to him_. "Don't seekers have to have good eyesight? He'd have to be good!"_

The Hyuuga nodded.

Green supporters grew louder as their team started to sweep into the arena. It was like they were trying to outdo the Bulgarian fans by showing that they were more loyal. The rivalry was somehow intense.

When the name "Lynch!" was called, both Lee and Neji leaned forward in their seats to get a good look at him. He was the Irish Team's Seeker after all, and the Hyuuga wanted to judge the competition. Lee grinned at him and sent thumbs up, as if to say 'Game on!' and then an uneasy feeling settled in Neji's stomach while he leaned back in his seat, feeling the wooden stand vibrate at the sheer magnitude of the event.

"_Why am I nervous?"_ he muttered to himself.

Sakura, who was cheering and waving her hands in the air, not wanting to let the two stoic members ruin her fun, glanced at him with a huge smile on her face and shouted, _"What?"_

Neji ignored her.

The fourteen players formed a circle in the air around the balding man on the pitch, who stood by a dying box with a silver whistle in his mouth. He kicked it, the lid sprang back, and two black balls shot from their hold, followed just seconds by something that the ninja knew was the Golden Snitch before it completely disappeared into the glow of the arena. As soon as the Quaffle was released, the game had begun.

* * *

It was reaching its climax. Everyone practically sat on the edge of their seats, their eyes glued to the blurs of red, green and gold, screaming their voices raw for their team. The same could be said for Sakura, Lee and Gai, who were fighting the urge to stand and jump up and down at the exhilarating pace the game was set at. Neji and Shino were oblivious to the way their hands were gripping their armrests tightly so that their skin turned white, and how their jaws were beginning to ache.

The fear of losing their hearing due to the harsh screams of the stadium was lost with the worries of school and of yesterday as they were swept with the game. It was hot. It was sweaty. But it was so much fun, that Sakura couldn't help but cheer with everyone else when someone scored—she didn't care who. And when the Seekers had feigned going after the snitch, she couldn't help clinging to Neji and shouting _"Go Krum!"_ The Hyuuga, of course, was much too sophisticated to scream right with her.

Not long after seeing the scarlet-clad seeker get into the action, both of them had been impressed with his skill in handling the broom compared to the other players. They were all good from their point of view, but this guy just stood out that little bit more.

"_He's moving!"_ Lee suddenly shouted, pointing at the green seeker who had taken a sudden nose dive.

"_Did he see the snitch?"_ Sakura screamed, not tearing her eyes from the broom-riders. _"Or is it a fake again?"_

"_He saw it,"_ Shino informed her, and the pinkette found both his and Neji's hands and gripped them tightly, squealing at the top of her lungs.

"_He's seen the snitch!"_ Her words were mingled with that of many around her.

A green wave flooded the stadium as Irish supporters rose to their feet and cheered their seeker on. But Krum was right behind him, ignoring the blood that screened his face from a previously failed move. Together the two hurtled towards the ground at a speed that everyone feared they wouldn't be able to pull out of in time.

Sakura held her breath, her eyes trained hard on them, and as soon as she had witnessed the green plummet to the earth and Krum flying free, she screamed, shooting up from her seat and pulling both boys with her.

"_Oh, god! Oh, my god!"_ Her vocals were lost in the thunder of noise, with the announcer yelling that Krum had caught the snitch somehow in the background. Everything was impeccably loud but yet she couldn't hear it. She was too busy cheering on both teams, shaking her hands in the air with Lee and Gai beside her, the remaining two just standing there.

It was a beautiful feeling. The adrenaline of the game coursed through her veins like wild fire as she repeated the entire match in her mind, still unbelieving with what she had seen. When it felt as though she wouldn't be able to talk anymore the next day, she collapsed onto the railing and gasped, a massive grin on her face. She glanced at both Shino and Neji; one of them had an amused and interested smile on his face, and the other was fighting one, but the rosette could easily see Shino's fingers twitching.

"_How lucky are we?"_ she said to the both of them, looking at them in turn. _"I mean, seriously!"_ Tears of mirth fell from her eyes and she clapped her cold hands over her nose as she shook her head. _"Wow,"_ she mumbled. _"Wow."_

"_Why are you crying?"_ Neji asked in her ear.

She laughed amongst the tears. _"It's the adrenaline!"_ she shouted. _"I can't help it! Have you never felt like this?"_ When he shook his head she tossed her head back and laughed. Sniffling, she started to wipe the tears but couldn't help but laugh again when Lee and Gai tried to see who could catch the most golden coins that were being tossed by the green short people with sparkles.

"_We have a mission,"_ Shino said. His voice was almost entirely numbed by the still screaming crowd.

Sakura frowned at him_. "Stop it! I know we have a mission, but can't we just enjoy this while it's here?"_

"_Don't let it get to you, Haruno-san,"_ he cautioned.

"_Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the game!"_

He didn't respond, and the rosette rolled her eyes and turned away from him, setting her eyes on the pitch below her. A few red riders were still there, their seeker getting aid by a medic for his bleeding nose. Lee set a huge grin on Neji, who peered at him in confusion, casting a look between Shino and Sakura.

"_The green won! Green won!"_

The Hyuuga nodded. _"Red caught the snitch. I won the bet."_

Lee's flushed face was crestfallen as he realised Neji spoke the truth. While looking slightly disappointed, he laughed and shouted, _"Well done, my rival!"_

The Hyuuga nodded, chuckling slightly to his teammate's good natured attitude. Lee had gone back to cheering with Gai but the screaming of the crowd was deafened slightly as the announcer spoke again. None of them really paid attention anyway. Lee, Gai and Sakura were lost with the sounds of the crowd, and Neji seemed to have spaced out, but Shino couldn't shake the nagging feeling sifting in his stomach.

The game was fun, but it was a distraction. A perfect time for any surprises.

But what surprises? He didn't know.

* * *

"_I'm jealous,"_ Sakura admitted, half leaning on Lee who was using her for same thing. A wonky smile was pasted on her face, so it wasn't hard to tell that the game had sent her into some sort of high.

"_Why so, Sakura-chan?"_ Lee asked. On both sides of them people were pushing and shoving, eager to get back to the campsite to celebrate the victory of the Irish Team. Shino was dawdling somewhere behind the two, a bunch of magic-folk in between them, and Neji was off to the side slightly, half hidden amongst the black, brown colours. Gai, they all figured, had gone to scout out Charlie.

The rosette sighed. _"Konoha doesn't have anything like this. At the moment... I just don't want to even think about going home."_

He chuckled. _"We're not going home until the end of the year!"_

This thought made her brighten up slightly. _"Well, that's one good thing. But I do already miss the others."_

Lee beamed, hooked her elbow with his and gave her thumbs up. _"It seems our dear Sakura-chan is feeling a mess of emotions thanks to the effects of an absolutely youthful game!"_

She sighed dramatically again, a half giggle chucked in at the same time. _"I'm deprived!"_ she cried. _"If I had this feeling more often than I wouldn't dread the whole 'depression' thing afterwards!"_

"_I have a feeling that we'll have many other moments like tonight, Sakura-chan,"_ Lee stated seriously, but with a warm smile on his lips. The kunoichi gazed up at him curiously, swinging their locked elbows childishly. He then grinned at her, baring his usual white teeth. _"After all, we're in a different world. There's gotta be tonnes of youthful things here that we'll never have back home!"_

Sakura nodded resolutely. _"You're right, Lee-kun."_

The tai-jutsu user widened his eyes and pursed his lips in surprise. _"-kun?"_

She smiled. _"'A lot of youthful things' that we've never had back home, Lee-kun!"_ she laughed. _"Ahh, Shino-san! Don't worry. I know it's a mission, but at the same time... I want to experience this place,"_ she mused to herself.

The two of them rode the stream back to the campsite, chatting nonstop about parts they loved about the game, and about the parts they didn't expect, and, if they were totally serious about it, creating a sport for back home as well. Neji, the spoil-sport he was, had joined them eventually and downed their hopes saying that ninja wouldn't have the time to play sports on a scale like that to begin with, and, as a little reminder, that Konoha did have some enemies.

Several people beside them, Shino wandered, his pale hands submerged into the deep pockets of his dark grey trench coat. His bugs were on a high, and he wasn't sure if they were reacting off his internal excitement about the game, or if something truly was amiss. The magical atmosphere didn't seem to have a large effect on his bugs when living inside him, but he had learned that they died quicker when exposed, like the one he had placed on Malfoy back in Diagon Alley. The brushing of elbows was not just a warning.

From the moment he had seen him, Shino knew that Malfoy would be a problem and had perched a bug on him in hopes of learning something about him and the people he hung with. A hunch told the Aburame that their Secondary Task #2, Harry Potter, was not friends with that blond boy.

Unfortunately, the bug grew sick and died before Shino could learn anything. From then on, he feared to use them unless necessary, and had told so to Neji. Their mission, he realised, was just going to get more difficult. The magic in the atmosphere just seemed to quench their existence that Shino couldn't help but wonder what the long-term side effects of staying in a place like this could be.

Shino was jostled from his thoughts when someone brushed by him, and his attention was instantly caught by the tiny creature next to him. It reached to his knees, and had floppy ears. It was wearing scraps of clothing, and was hunched over like it had been constantly worried about something for years and was stuck that way.

Big, feminine eyes looked his way, and the creature yelped, breaking away from the outer edge of the crowd. He was nudged again, and confused, the shinobi glanced around: at his height, and at his knees, but didn't see anything else.

He was still... uneasy. He only hoped that the others would begin to feel the same thing soon.


	6. Things Just Got Real

_I love it when scenes just flow smoothly as you're writing, and still seem cool after you've written it. Well, another chapter. :D 'Things just got real'. I think the ninja are beginning to realise that they would need to concentrate that little bit more, and that the magic world isn't all cookies-and-cream. _

_I'm beginning to understand some more things about writing, so I'm quite excited. Yay! Hopefully it will show more in later chapters. And the thought that all this is practice makes me somehow more confident. _

_Thank you to those that reviewed! It's really appreciated! I've reached 30 – yatta! :3 And just so you know, I'm hoping to continue with this series, because I have plans for at least three (maybe four) sequels. Information will be added to my profile when necessary. But I know I'll only get that far if you guys support me!  
_

_Have anything you liked? Or disliked? Was it **boring**? If so, then review and tell me what so I can learn!

* * *

_

—**CHAPTER FIVE—**  
_Things Just Got Real

* * *

_

Twenty minutes lying in her bed and Sakura found herself unable to sleep. It wasn't just the cheering and loud music just outside her tent, or the fact that she was admittedly feeling a little homesick, but rather the adrenaline from the game still buzzing in her veins. Every time she thought of how exhilarating it was to watch a sport—because Kami knew there weren't many back home—she was always reminded of Shino's words that it was still a mission.

_What a spoilsport_, she cursed as she rolled over in her bed, burying her head into the pillow in another vain attempt to find comfort.

She couldn't help it. This place was just amazing with what it could do, that it somehow made the sparks of ninja and their powers seem pale in comparison. Here there was innocence, something she sorely missed. It was unbelievable. She longed to get up and just explore more of the arts of this world but she doubted a year would be enough, which she didn't admit to Lee. She knew, though, that she'd take advantage of her position as a school student next week—

_Kami! Next week!_ she cried frantically in her mind.

At the same time she knew she had to keep both eyes and ears open to pick up on abnormalities; yet Neji had a point. Part of the appeal of hiring ninja to locate spies was because of their abilities... but she also felt right in that it was a test for all of them.

_It's a good thing Naruto isn't here_, she thought to herself as she rolled over again, grabbing at the sheet and blanket and pulling them further over her shoulders. _He'd hate to be back at school_.

At a particularly loud boom of a firework outside, Sakura shot up from her bed and shouted, _"For Pete's sake! Why did I even try to go to bed?"_

There was a relatively strident thump next door, and she heard a yelp of, _"Lee-kun!"_ before she saw both Lee and Neji walk passed her door. She lied back down in her bed but watched for any more shadows, trying to ignore the cheers and bangs outside. It can't have been long when the two ninja scrambled back into the tent, their feet so loud against the floor.

"_Gai-sensei! Aburame-san!"_ Neji yelled. He stumbled into Sakura's room, making her jump in surprise. She saw Lee run by behind him. _"Come on, Sakura-san! We're under attack!"_

"_What?"_ she whispered in hoarse belief. Eyes wide, she tossed the coverings off her body and tripped over her wound feet as she made for her belongings.

When Neji grabbed her hand to stay it from reaching for her clothes, she stopped. _"No time. Come on!"_

It was a blur as the group of ninja scrambled out of their tent, pulling on jumpers as they did so. Almost immediately they were pulled into the stream of fleeing magic-folk, fearfully glancing behind at something a little way-aways from their position. All of them felt the urge to stop whatever was happening, but that would entirely blow their cover, and they didn't even know what was going on to begin with. The laws were so strange here that it sometimes felt like sneezing would land you in jail.

And Sakura... she felt panicky. She was disgusted that that feeling even allowed itself to seep into her veins, but she honestly couldn't deny it when she was in a new and strange world. Anything could go wrong, just like back home.

Someone pushed by her and she fell into Gai, stumbling over her feet as they hooked over scattered debris. Emitting a sharp yelp of surprise, the expert gripped her hand securely and balanced her while on the run, not letting go even as they continued to pursue for safety. It was mush; the blending of people's clothes and fire; the smell of smoke and dew; the sound of screams and laughter.

And then it happened.

A group of hasty wizards split the group of five in two, forcing Shino and Lee to go in a different direction. The two stopped in their tracks upon realisation, but the people behind them forced them into a run even as they tried to search for Sakura's familiar pink hair.

Trapped in the cage of hurrying wizards, the both of them were pushed and shoved into each other, tipping them slightly off balance as their feet hooked and scraped against the heels and feet of the people before and behind them. Shino widened his eyes when he was suddenly forced into Lee and propelled into a collapsed tent. They landed in a heap, and Shino's glasses slipped awkwardly from his head and onto the moist grass. They were crushed instantly by Lee's foot as the tai-jutsu user scurried to his feet, panting loudly.

"_They're not leaving a good impression,"_ the Aburame half scowled while fingering the shards of his glasses.

"_I'm so sorry, Shino-san!"_ Lee whispered loudly, crouching.

"_It's fine,"_ the younger boy dismissed, tossing the glass onto the grass and scanning around. There were still a number of people fleeing but it wasn't as condensed as it was before. Whether the other three would go searching for them or not, they didn't know, but neither did they want to risk it. Staying out in the open during whatever was happening would put them under suspicion.

They stayed there for a minute to catch their breath. The last time they had any intense training was before they received their mission, over two months ago. It was ridiculous that during everything they were already panting. Were their skills really reducing that quickly? Would they even be able to complete the simple feat of walking up trees by the time they got home at the end of the year? What would their reflexes be like during the year?

So many questions that could only be answered by experiencing it.

"_Is that what they're running from?"_ Lee asked, peering over the side of the fallen tent.

In the distance the two could see what made everyone screaming. A group of black-garbed witches and wizards were laughing and talking, balancing several people in the air a couple of metres above them. Lee's hand tightened around his knee when he saw the woman being twirled like she was nothing but a leaf caught in a raging wind. The sight itself was humiliating, so how did the victims feel?

"_Look at their masks,"_ Shino pointed out, emphasising the white material that shielded the wizards' faces.

"_Why isn't anybody helping them?"_ Lee said rhetorically.

"_We're not either."_

Lee straightened, glaring down at the Aburame. _"That's not fair."_

"_When is anything?"_ Shino responded coolly, glancing once more at the crowd of rule-breaking magic folk before grabbing Lee's elbow. _"Let's head to the woods before we're seen."_

The tai-jutsu user nodded minutely and followed Shino as they silently crept to the edge of the woods, keeping low behind the torn debris that littered the field. It was hard to believe how much the atmosphere had changed from just moments before; from such a high feel to a cold, frightening one.

They were almost there when all of a sudden they heard a voice shouting what had to be a spell.

"Morsmordre!"

Seconds later a green light slithered from the tops of the trees and breached the night sky like a sick mist. Shino and Lee fell to their knees to hide, gazing up at the green smoke floating above them until it morphed into a giant skull.

"_What the..."_ Shino whispered.

A snake wormed through the open bone jaws of the skull, stretching down to the ground. At once there was a collection of screams coming from the forest and the two jolted to their senses, gripping at the wet ground and moving swiftly to the woods. Almost as soon as they hit the first layer of trees and stepped further in, they collided into something else.

Something else that yelped in pain and surprise.

"What the?" someone yelled in English.

Lee and Shino hurried to their feet at the same time their blockers did. There were three of them, all looking positively frightened and confused as they heaved.

"_Sorry!"_ Lee shouted, bowing in the darkness.

The Aburame and the other three didn't have the chance to say a thing when there was a series of pops, a sound Shino recognised to be some apparating. He glanced around and quickly noticed with the rest of them that they were surrounded by other wizards with all their wands pointed at them.

Someone yelled, "Duck!" and they dropped to the ground as quick as lightning.

"Stupefy!" roared a number of voices.

Lights flashed like quick thunder and Shino and Lee felt air gush over their heads as red beams skimmed over them, hitting tree trunks and disappearing into bushes. Lee propped his head up slightly, but the Aburame quickly buried his hand into his friends black locks and pushed him down further, just as another collection of red came storming overhead.

"Stop!" a voice yelled.

"That's dad," one of the boys near them whispered to his friends. "It's gotta be."

"Stop! That's my _son!_"

Both shinobi hesitantly lifted their heads after the wind dispersed, feeling like cold water was poured over their heads at the sight of dozens of wands being pointed right at them. It was unnerving without having any of their usual devices to defend themselves on their body, but they slowly pushed themselves onto their feet with the other three and brushed off any twigs or leaves caught in their clothes.

A red-headed man came forward, expressing his fear and worry through his shaky voice. "Ron – Harry – Hermione – are you alright?"

Shino and Lee didn't have to look at each other to know they were both wondering the exact same thing. What were the chances of them running into the person they had to protect?

"Which one of you did it?" a man snapped, his what would normally be neatly cut and parted hair had loose locks dangling over his darting eyes, giving him a look of insanity. He pointed his wand at all five of them accusingly. "Which one of you summoned the Dark Mark?"

Shino and Lee shared a look, frowning. They didn't know exactly what they were saying, but it was obvious that the glowing green mark in the sky was of some utmost importance and fear.

An argument broke out in heated English that none of the two shinobi could understand at all. Whatever it was, the man with a slightly maniacal look in his eyes was dead set on finding one of them to have committed the crime. And it was only a matter of time until he set his shaking wand on the two of them. The other wizards' and witches followed suit; now they were the centre of attention.

Someone said something but Lee shook his head, putting his hands up. The crazed man stepped forward suddenly that the tai-jutsu user shuffled back a few paces and Shino moved in front swiftly, causing the other magic folk to come in on them like vultures. A sound of protest from the three they had run into stopped them short.

"_We don't know anything you're saying,"_ he said in his language.

The front man's bulged eyes lessened only a little. He whispered a spell, flicked the tip of his wand which glowed a faint white, and the hourglass necklaces the shinobi wore turned upside down to restart the time. Lee fingered the jewellery gingerly before looking up at the man beneath his fringe. "Did you summon the Dark Mark?" he repeated.

They understood this time.

"No," Shino said.

"Did you see who summoned the Dark Mark?" he asked again loudly.

"No. We heard a voice coming from the woods and then the Mark appeared," Shino explained slowly. "I don't know the spell." It was a lie, but Shino knew that if he repeated it he'd get into some sort of trouble quite quickly. "I heard a voice. It was masculine."

"We're telling the truth," Lee enforced. "We saw it appear and ran into the forest, colliding with those three." He tilted his head at said teenagers who shifted at the sudden attention until one of them stepped forward.

"The same thing happened with us," the female—Hermione—spoke confidently. "We swear it."

A number of raised wands were lowered, convinced by the support of the teenage witch, but the man who led hadn't dropped his. Shino and Lee didn't move from their spot, didn't move an inch as his eyes beadily stared at him, completely unconvinced.

"Kids, where did the voice come from?" the red-headed man asked.

Three hands lifted to point into the bushes nearby. Shino and Lee watched as two wizarding officials disappeared into the bushes to search for what would hopefully be the perpetrator. Murmured English sentences met Shino and Lee's ears but they didn't listen.

"It seems this place isn't as peaceful as home, after all, Lee," Shino whispered, hand lifting to adjust his glasses only to realise that they weren't there. He tightened his lips and dropped his arm like a weight, peeved.

Lee concurred, nodding curtly. "And it worries me. But no matter, I will endeavour to help in any way that I can!" He pumped a fist in front of him, earning confused faces from the three teenagers who couldn't hear what they were saying. The two stared back, as though it was some sort of staring contest, before Shino leaned slightly into his teammate.

"That must be him," he said. Lee huffed in confirmation. "I can see the mark on his forehead. Not quite what I expected, to be honest." Raking his eyes over Harry's body affirmed that the boy was quite lanky and pale, suggesting that he hadn't gotten much sun at all in his past. Said male shuffled uncomfortably and looked away, knowing that the two were scrutinising him. Hermione placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and stared back, as if to ward off their peering glances.

Lee's eyes watered and he bit his lip. "Such a strong boy to live through such hard times."

"No doubt his friends are part of his survival."

"Yosh!"

He scanned the other two; a tall red-head standing beside Hermione, a bushy-haired female who had tensed her bottom jaw, suggesting distrust. Like Harry, the two didn't look too special, but Shino felt otherwise. Every person had their strengths, and it was only a matter of time until he witnessed what each of them were like individually.

"Mental if you ask me," the red-head—_Ron_, Shino remembered—whispered to the female, referring to the tai-jutsu user.

Shino didn't bother to say that they heard him, but a sniffle caused him to stare at Lee in half confusion. "Are you crying...?"

"Tears are the signs of youth, Shino-san," Lee reported. "Perhaps you will be more youthful if you don't wear your glasses in the future."

"No."

"Shino-kun!" All heads turned in the direction of the voice, wands rising at the ready. "Lee-kun!"

The two ninja stepped forward. "That's Gai-sensei," Shino confirmed.

Barty whipped his wand back to them with bulging eyes so quickly that Hermione gasped, jumping back into Ron. "Who is that? Do you know him?"

Before they had the chance to answer, Gai burst from the bushes, making a few wizards jump in surprise and shout "Stupefy!" in his direction. He quickly ducked to the ground with his hands on his head as Shino and Lee stepped in front of them, their hands up.

"Stop! He's our guardian!" Lee informed, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"How do we know he wasn't the one who summoned the Mark?" one of the officials muttered hoarsely from the darkness.

The red-headed adult stalked forward and pushed down the wands near him, glaring. "His name is Gai. My son, Charlie, knows him. You _do_ know Charlie, don't you, Barty? On top of that, Gai doesn't even have a wand. There's no way he could have cast the spell."

Barty's eyes quivered. "We'll see. He could have stolen the wand and cast the spell." Lee translated to his teacher quietly by pressing his hourglass necklace slightly.

"_Mighty impossible, good sir!"_ Gai called, erect, his arms crossed with a huge smile on his face. "_For I am a youthful squib!"_

"What did he say, Mr Crouch?" a witch asked.

The man who looked as though he was Ron's father moved forward and cast a spell on his translating charm. Gai watched his hourglass turn and restart, his grin somehow widening even further.

"I assume I can speak your langua—ah!"

"What the?" Ron gaped, his mouth open as he exchanged a look with Harry and Hermione beside him. "They're clones. They're mental. _Both_ of them."

"Oh, Ron. Quiet," Hermione scolded.

"We've found them! We've found them!" a wizard yelled, coming from the bushes carrying something small and limp. Hermione gasped almost instantly upon sight.

"Wh—isn't that—"

"Barty Crouch's house elf," someone ended ominously. "Winky."

Shino narrowed his eyes. He recognised the grey creature; its pale, dirty cloth that it wore over its body, and its large floppy ears. It was the one that had bumped into him on the way back to the campsite, looking positively worried about something and frequently peering behind. He shifted his weight, drawing Gai's eyes to him.

"It's—It's not possible," Mr Crouch stuttered, his back as straight as a board. He stiffly headed to the bushes, ignoring the whispers around him and a protest that there was nothing else there.

At that moment, in Barty's hysteria, Charlie's father approached them, running a hand through his thin red hair and re-pocketing his wand. He sighed in defeat and put his hands on his hips, gazing down at the ground.

"You're off the hook, no doubt. I doubt any of the members here believe that you were at all involved in the summoning of the Mark, so you're welcome to head back to your tent and get your belongings. There should be a portkey that you can take nearby."

"But the masked people—" Lee started.

"They ran off as soon as the Mark appeared," he explained, clucking his tongue. He then gestured for the three teenagers to come over, and they hesitantly did, their eyes still on the unconscious Winky, their mouths agape like frozen fish.

"Dad, there's no way Winky could have done it, could she?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook her head indefinitely. "No. No way. Elves are not allowed to have wands, and you saw her on the stands!" They both nodded gloomily. "She was up there for Mr Crouch. She would never betray him. They're accusing the wrong person!"

"I know, Hermione. I know," Ron's dad agreed. "But she was caught at the scene of the crime and—"

"—but nothing else!" the witch protested. "They—"

"A wand! We've found a wand!"

The group whirled around to see a wizard brandishing a second wooden stick.

"That's mine!" Harry shouted before he could stop himself, turning all heads. Barty came clambering out of the bushes with a horrified look on his face, looking even paler than he was before if it were possible.

"_Your_ wand?" a witch repeated incredulously. Harry nodded stiffly. The three shinobi felt their stomach clench at the sudden tense atmosphere.

"A confession!" Crouch cried.

"Barty! It's Harry Potter!" someone protested. "Why would he summon the Mark?"

"After all, this wand was found right where Winky was found," another explained. "The Elf did it."

"That's not fair!" Hermione argued. But no matter how much she debated after that, none of them seemed convinced that the female elf hadn't done it. The witch was only silenced when Ron's dad had placed a hand on her shoulder, and only then did she face her friends with teary eyes. Lee's hands were clenched tightly into fists at the unfairness of it, but knew, just like his teacher and teammate, that saying anything would not dissuade the situation.

"I want you to head back to camp," Ron's father commanded sternly, his voice wavering slightly. He looked Gai in the eyes and asked, "Could you take my son and his friends back to camp? Charlie is there, along with my remaining kids."

The ninja breathed in deeply and grunted a 'yes', making Ron swallow uncomfortably.

"Are-Are we sure he's okay?" he asked tepidly.

"He knows Charlie, Ron. You'll be fine. Harry, they'll be wanting to take a look at your wand. I'll hand it back when I meet you later on. I have a feeling that as soon as Mr Crouch's elf wakes up, there's going to be a lot more questions."

Ron slowly looked back at the tall teacher and swallowed again, pursing his lips in distaste. Harry was silent as he nodded, but even he showed signs of preferring to remain behind. Hermione was the only one who seemed like she wanted to leave; she had an expression in her eyes that Shino quickly defined as determination. She had an idea in her mind and was going to go through with it one way or another.

"You will be safe, young man," Gai insisted with a wonky smile. He then placed a large hand on a nodding Lee. "Yosh! Let's head back! The others are waiting!" He bowed courteously to the red-headed adult before pivoting and leaving.

Lee followed swiftly, casting a look back over the crime scene, and Shino silently trailed behind, his eyes gazing up through the canopy at the green mist in the sky. None of them had to see to know that the three teenagers were reluctantly tagging along as well, their footsteps—particularly Ron's—hard on the earth.

"He's weird," Shino heard him whisper. "Why—I mean, seriously—_why_ is he so joyful?"

"I don't know," Harry mumbled through clenched teeth.

"What a crazy night," Ron sighed. "You don't think Winky really did it, do you?"

Shino heard Hermione whirl around on her friend before she had even spoken. "Of course not, Ron! They just want to find someone to blame, and they couldn't possibly pin it on 'the Harry Potter', could they? Winky was just there at the wrong time and the wrong place."

"With my wand in her hands," Harry muttered.

"You don't seriously believe she stole it, do you?"

Shino paused and watched them. Both Harry and Ron shuffled uncomfortably under her eagle eyes, but he didn't doubt that she wasn't the only thing they were nervous about. The whole ordeal was draining, and also a complete shock to them no doubt.

Ron nervously bit his lip. "Well, how else did she have it?" he said cautiously, knowing anyway that his friend would glare at him. Hermione groaned in aggravation.

"Come, youthful younglings!" Gai shouted from up front. All three flinched, completely surprised by his booming voice. He was backed by Lee who waved somewhat cheerfully next to him.

Sighing quietly, Shino shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets. To the trio, he said, "I'm certain one would get used to it." Tilting his head to the side, he closed his exposed eyes then opened them again. "I'm not, yet, as it were."

"Who would?" Ron mumbled as they started to walk again. He blanched when Hermione lightly jabbed him in the stomach. "Blimey, 'Mione. Was that necessary?"

"He's doing a favour for your dad. Be more respectful," she chastised, but her expression hinted that she wasn't too fussed and was more annoyed with the house-elf situation.

Harry met Shino's eyes as soon as they reached him, and he slowed to a halt. "What's your name?" he asked stiffly.

"Shino Aburame."

"Harry Potter."

"I know."

Neither of them spoke, but it wasn't exactly awkward. Harry was curious, but seemed to resign himself to the fact that he wouldn't see the ninja again in the future, that it was just an off chance meeting. Shino knew it was the opposite, and he couldn't help but be interested about what was to happen.

Only when Lee and Ron simultaneously yelled at them to hurry up did the two obligingly follow behind, still not uttering a word to each other.

Shino hoped that his tight stomach from before the attack was a prediction of what just happened, and not because of anything he might have missed or would expect to occur. He wasn't one to worry on his ninja missions, but then again, none of them were quite like this. He already knew it was going to be harder than any mission he'd done before; harder for him than, say, Sakura.

Why? Because to fit in well with his new school, he'd have to blend in with the crowd, and socialising was not his strong point. That could be easily understood upon first glance.

Reaching up to his eyes in habit to fix his glasses, Shino dropped his hand again, mentally reminding himself that he really needed to get a new pair before the start of school.

* * *

Sakura couldn't understand why she was so nervous about the disappearance of Shino and Lee. Constantly she reminded herself during her pacing that they were very capable (moreso than her), and that them surviving was almost just like collecting a bundle of sticks—easy.

Every time she turned to Neji to see what he was doing, she found herself disappointed that he wasn't fidgeting like she was with the zipper of her jumper. Instead he remained rooted in his seat opposite Charlie (whose shirt had a big tear in it) and two red-headed twins (Fred and George), enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. She felt that, even though the Hyuuga was confident in his teammates, that he'd at least show a little anxiety for their disappearances, especially since every one of them was just beginning to understand that this world was not what they expected, and that they would need to concentrate that little bit more.

Maybe it wasn't as innocent as she thought it was.

"Be careful or you'll wear a hole in the floor," Ginny Weasley teased with a crooked smile—she was worried about her brother and friends.

Sakura managed a tug of the lips before sitting precariously down opposite the female. She moaned in annoyance when she saw her wet pyjama legs, green and brown with dirt and grass, so she set about squeezing at least some of the moisture out of it.

The sound of Bill Weasley groaning in pain made her cast her eyes in that direction, and guilt drowned her when she once again felt overwhelmed to help heal him but couldn't. That was going to get annoying.

He was sitting near Ginny and herself on a pile of beanbags, the tables cloth wrapped around his bleeding arm. His younger brother, Percy, whose face was screwed up in intense dislike for everything, was dabbing some blood around his broken nose, seated further away from his family. Fred, George and Ginny were the only ones who weren't physically wounded out of the group, but they were shaken.

Sakura, herself, bore a few scratches but that was it.

When she and Neji had returned to the filling campsite to find the missing ninja, they had run into the Weasley family who had 'refuelled' their translating charms for them—Gai had already gone searching for the other two. It was much easier than having to rely on Charlie and the other older brother, Bill, to translate everything they said. None of them had spoken at first, even when the ninja were given entrance into the Weasley's tent.

It was awkward. All of the red-heads had been exuberating fear and shock.

"What's Japan like?" Ginny suddenly asked, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear. She was leaning forward in her seat as though she was more than ready shoot from it at the first sign of someone coming.

Sakura pondered, 'hmming' to herself while squeezing her clothes. "It's, uh... quite different," she responded.

In truth she hadn't seen Japan with her own eyes, but she believed that since the ninja regions were of Japanese origin—the language, the food, etc, with some Westernised aspects—that it wasn't that different. She looked Japanese and was seen as Japanese, so how different could it be?

How they came to be in Britain, or near it, was something none of them entirely understood. At first she would have described it as a portkey—now that she knew what they were called—but at the same time it was different. Whatever it was, Tsunade assured them that Dumbledore could be trusted.

The rosette smiled. "I've never had so much western food before," she admitted. "But I quite like bacon and eggs. And... I had trouble understanding some of the differences in culture at first."

Ginny frowned, her pale face slowly getting some colour. "So you weren't just here for the World Cup?"

"No. We're..." she grinned, genuinely this time. "We're starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The younger female's eyes widened in delight. "Seriously?" A nod made a beam bloom on Ginny's face. "Wow! So I'll get to see more of you then?"

"Yep."

"I hope you're in my house," she wished, looking proud. "I'm in Gryffindor. So has all of my family, in fact."

"I don't know too much about the houses," admitted Sakura, "But I'm certainly hoping I am placed in a good one."

"In that case, any of them are good except for Slytherin," she grimaced. The rosette nodded knowingly, recalling the brief explanation Dumbledore had written them on paper about the house characteristics for the Sorting.

"Well... ambition can be considered determination... can't it?" she said slowly.

Ginny's eyes darkened slightly. "You'll see what I mean when you get to Hogwarts."

"No doubt I would," Sakura mumbled, feeling unsettled now that she had probably presented a somewhat bad image.

"Forget about that," Ginny then said, smiling slightly. "You're going to Hogwarts and I know that you are older than me; fourteen, yes? So what I'm curious about is why you're starting school so late."

She had this memorised like the back of her hand, all of them did. It was a good thing that the school accepted students during the later years, as long as they were approved by the Headmaster to be suited for that level. As ninja, though, they had 'armour' that enabled them to get in regardless.

"Charlie told us a bit about you guys but not that much," the red-head added.

"My friends and I come from a remote village in Japan. Nothing too big, and the population is quite small... compared to the rest of Japan, at least... but we trained under a witch-mentor in our younger years. She's sort of like our parent, but isn't," Sakura explained. "Just recently she thought that we'd be better suited for a school and contacted Dumbledore."

"I see."

"I'm excited, to be honest."

"And why wouldn't you be?" a voice from behind interrupted. Sakura saw Ginny roll her eyes and lean back in her chair before an arm was slung around her shoulder. "Home education is outclassed by this _magnificent_ school. Isn't that right, George?"

"Too true, Fred," was the instant reply, and said Twin sat down next to Sakura, a half-empty mug in his hand. "Big."

"Flashy."

"Magical."

"Not to mention everything's pretty much alive."

"Even the ghosts!"

"Oh, you two," Ginny scolded, pushing Fred's head away from Sakura while the rosette stared clueless at nothing; her face did go whiter at the mention of ghosts though. "Stop it."

George raised his eyebrows, his facial expression not quite matching his pale skin. "I have full confidence in our little Ronnie-kins being just fine. Just trying to elevate the tension. Though Sakuura's hair certainly gets the job done," he said, picking at the pink locks.

The rosette pulled the strands from his grip and corrected the mutilation of her name under her breath. "I think your hair is really cool," Ginny whispered as the twins copied Sakura's protection of her mane.

"Keep practicing," Bill teased in the background, peeking at his small wound. "I'll need a lot more than that to make me feel better after this wound."

"Does it hurt very badly?" Sakura asked, worried, uncurling the twin's arm around her shoulder to take a closer look at the damage. Why she hadn't done it before, she didn't know. Behind her, though, the twins quietly mimicked her mothering words again, to which Ginny scowled at them for.

Bill chuckled. "Nah, I've had worse," he said. Someone snorted in the background, but none of them could tell who, though Sakura had a vague feeling that it might have been Charlie as Neji was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Percy over there's got a broken nose, though. Much harder to heal."

Said red-head pointedly ignored her curious looks.

Glumly, Sakura sat back down again in her spot, burying her chin into her palm. "I wish I could help in some way," she mumbled.

"You want to be a Nurse?" Ginny asked with undisguised interest.

"Nurse!" one of the twins shouted. "Why didn't we ever think of that?"

"Excellent idea. Think of all the things we could disguise our pranks as."

"Didn't Mum tell you not to do that?" Ginny reminded with a furrowed brow, her hands in between knees as she took on a stern countenance.

One of them grinned at his younger sister. "Yeah, but, where's the fun in that? A hospital! A great place!"

"For pranks?" Sakura questioned, mouth open. "With all those sick people?"

"Too true, Bruno." George beamed. The rosette snapped her jaws closed and glared at the offending red-head, something that was normally reserved for those who truly annoyed her. Well, that nickname _was_ just _horrid_, and it spawned because of her last name! "All those sick and down in the dumps people," he said, a hand to his heart.

Fred chuckled and leapt from his spot beside Sakura to join him in the same position. "Nothing to cheer them up; to give them one last laugh."

"Has it ever occurred to you that some sick people would prefer silence?" Sakura growled. Ginny had a hand on the rosette's shoulder to calm her but was glaring along with her all the same.

"Not sick people like Naruto-san," Neji spoke from the background. Attention shifted to him and he gave Sakura an amused smirk before he ended with a mocking, "Bruno."

"That's it!" the pinkette snarled, shooting from her seat. "The next person who calls me Bruno will get a—"

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" someone new asked in apparent dismay.

"Ron!" Ginny yelled, running to him for a hug, doing the same thing with his friends behind him.

Sakura was so glad to see Shino and Lee in good condition that she completely forgot why she was angry moments before. A smile melted onto her lips at the sight of them, and she crossed her arms before giving a quick salute.

"I have returned, Sakura-chan!" Lee cried, pelting to her and whisking her into a hug so that she spun with him.

"Lee-kun!" she laughed.

"Sorry we're late," Shino reported, approaching his leader at the table and stealing a seat between him and Charlie—the latter got up and moved to embrace his family member and friends that had returned, also to find out what was going on.

"No matter," Neji responded, moving his mug towards the Aburame. "Drink. It's cold outside." After the ninja took a sip, he continued. "Anything happen?"

"Yes. Some. Encountered Harry Potter."

"The one with dark hair."

"Yes."

"Your glasses..."

"...are gone. Lee-san crushed them."

"Ahh."

"They were absolutely lovely on the walk back home!" they heard Gai announce at the entrance, giving Harry a hard whack on the back that sent him flying into Ginny in front of him. He coughed harshly, and Ron glued himself to Hermione; Ginny blushed.

Shino gestured at their guardian with his head. "Those three are a bit afraid of him," he explained. "But they're more shaken up about what had happened out there. Their father is still with the officials, trying to understand what is going on. He'll be back soon."

"We can talk about it entirely when we return to the Leaky Cauldron."

"No kidding," Sakura sighed, falling into Charlie's seat with a heavy sigh. She ran a hand through her pink hair to fix it up. "I'm looking forward to getting back." She paused, staring at the bug-nin. "Shino, you—"

"—are not wearing glasses," he finished, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not blind..."

Sakura snorted in amusement.

"...Bruno."

* * *

"Who-Who were they?" Harry asked, nodding his head at the leaving group of foreigners. His eyes lingered on the pink hair of the single female, but he couldn't say he wasn't sad to see them go. He agreed with Ron: that man and his clone were just plain mental; simple. That was the only explanation. Had to be.

He, they, acted completely oblivious to what the Dark Mark meant in the sky, like they didn't know a single thing about the fear of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Either they truly were clueless, or acted like that merely for the same reason Fred and George were cracking jokes to lighten the mood.

The guy called Shino was freaky as well, but for a different reason. Harry knew that they had recognised him, and while he disliked the scrutiny, he was thankful that the boy hadn't pressed any questions onto him about his past life, nor mentioned a peep about the ordeal, which he half-expected. He obviously didn't talk much, but just his presence made the air oddly thick.

"Charlie knows them," Ginny explained. "Met him before the match."

Harry nodded, recalling Mr Weasley mentioning that the second oldest son knew Gai—and now he wondered how the two clicked. Charlie was decent, very decent. Gai was... weird.

"They'll be going to Hogwarts this year, too," the female red-head said, breathless. She spoke in a rush.

"Wh-What?" Ron stuttered. "The old man as well?"

Ginny shook her head and Hermione frowned. "No, Ron. Just the four around our age," the former clarified. "Two of them will be in your year."

Harry perked up. "Which ones?" He, along with Ron, were hoping that Lee wasn't one of them.

"Sakuura and... Shino," Ginny answered, screwing up her face to recall the name. "The other two are a year older."

"Pink hair..." Ron dragged his sentence, eyes a little dazed by what he remembered. "That girl had pink hair." Confusion graced his face. "Is that even allowed?"

Hermione, already seated with the others and in the midst of explaining what was going on, interrupted. "Of course not, Ron. There's no way a teacher would allow it."

"Or that much joy..." the red-head Gryffindor muttered under his breath.

"Come, Ron – Harry," Ginny said, grabbing their sleeves. "Sit down. I'll get you a drink."


End file.
